Rising Sun: Autumn Dusk
by chicken.muffin7
Summary: 7 years after BD with the threat of the Volturi's return now an inevitable Jacob and Renesmee's relationship gets put to the test again and again. A story that you are GUARANTEED on loving. Includes drama ALL Cullen's. Canon pairings. RPOV. PLEASE READ
1. Chapter 1

7 years later … Renesmee

Chapter 1 RING!! Ahh the bell finally was all I could think, I couldn't wait to get out of Spoons Junior High School. Jacob helped me up from my seat, he's always doing things for me and escorted me to my shiny new BMW, it was a 16th birthday present from mum and dad although of course I never got to drive it. As we made our way across the lot, a little too fast with so many humans around, Jacob made his way around to the driver's side. After opening my door for me he quickly turned on the heat, I hated living up here in Alaska where it was freezing all the time but at least mum and dad got to go out with me … most of the time.

Jacob stepped on the accelerator and we were on the main road in seconds. "I'm glad to be out of History, that Mrs Wilks has no idea what she's going on about does she?"

"Hmm … oh yeah I know right"

"What's up Nessie? You seemed a bit out of ever since lunch, what's going on? Are you ok" he questioned me seriously now holding my chin so that my gaze couldn't wonder.

"It's nothing really… well I was just thinking … you know how you and me are never going to age anymore? Well I was wondering…" I smirked a little deciding to hide the truth from him, "Will there always be teachers like her in the world I mean come on the lecture was boring as!" I said finishing off with a very forced laugh. After a suspicious glance, he joined me in the laughter and then lightly kissed my forehead. It was good that I could at least keep the truth from him, dad always worried mum with my thoughts, sometimes I wish I was like mum and could chose when he could tell what I was thinking.

We exited the main highway and the car now jumped a bit as the rough terrain of the forest floor went underneath the tires, I liked this part of the drive, it reminded me of my childhood in Forks. We parked in the garage where mum and dad were just getting out of the car, it had been too sunny for them to go to school today. I wonder where they've been?

"Hello darling, how was school? Learn anything new?" mum said as her and dad now made their way up the porch steps and into the lounge room, Jake had his hand on my shoulder as I leant into him for support he cuddled me closer, he knew what I was thinking.

"Other than an hour lecture on history no not really", I wasn't going to tell her about the fight that I had gotten into with Sam Reid, she didn't need to know but of course now dad would now… I never learn … I followed the sigh and regret in his eyes.

"Renesmee" he started, immediately mums eyes filled with worry she always got like this when dad used my full name.

"What, what happened?" she asked quickly searching dad's eyes for a hint as to what the issue might be. At that moment Aunt Rosalie and Alice entered the room with Uncle Emmett and Jasper right behind them, great a bigger audience I thought as they came closer to see what was going on.

Well this was it, it was either mum hears my watered down version or she get the full story from dad. "It's nothing to get worried about; it's well … a girl in my Biology class today she laughed at my white skin and well I got angry and well I" I stumbled not sure what was the right way to put it.

_Just bear with me dad please _I thought and out of the corner I saw him nod with his eyes.

"Just tell me Renesmee please" mum begged me, although I knew I was in trouble, the full name thing again.

"Ok well I kinda lent into my hunting crouch" before I could even finish my sentence Emmett was already booming with laughter, I continued "but it's ok because everyone just laughed at me and now I'm even more of a freak and will never fit in" I narrowed my eyes half waiting for mum to build up her rant and the other half trying not to let the tears escape from my eyes. I leant into Jacob as I felt the tears trickle down my face and he embraced me, I heard dad let out a low snarl, _Dad get over it, he's a part of my life now you're just going to have to get used to it _and I don't know if it was that thought or mums quick elbow to the ribs that shut him up, at least mum understood.

Mum took my hands and held my chin letting our eyes meet, "Honey, you need to tell me stuff like this; I know that you think we all don't understand but we can help you, it just takes a little getting used to, you'll get the hang of it eventually", she released her hold on me and smiled, I tried to return one but I still felt depressed as I watched the whole thing unfold in my memories again only knowing too well that dad was watching it too.

"Well" I started, wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes and then starting again "we got heaps of homework so we better get started hey Jake?" already half way up the stairs to my room, Jake's hand in mine as I towed him along. I saw everyone roll their eyes, could I help it if I was a typical teenage girl?

We actually did start out on the desk but then got bored with algebra and co-ordinate geometry and retreated to the couch, Jacob putting ESPN on the flat screen, I giggled to myself you would think that vampires and werewolves would have other interests than baseball especially when we could play it at twice the speed as the major league players. We lay on the couch together, it was a bit uncomfortable what with him being so big but I was happy as long as I was with him. Jacob, MY Jacob. I twisted in his hold around me to face him wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him closer to me; he then caught up with my mood and matched his lips to mine, it seemed that we were alone for all of 5 minutes before my personal bodyguards, better known as dad and Rosalie, barged through the bedroom door almost pulling it off its hinges. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as dad ripped me off Jake and stood me upright next to him. Rosalie hissed at Jake, I loved her dearly but she is a pain in the neck when it comes to my relationship with Jacob. Dad raised his eyebrows showing his disapproval of the subject too. I could hear mum, Alice, Emmett and Esme in the dining room all laughing, why couldn't these two be as laid back as all of them?

"Come on Renesmee, be reasonable" Dad started to make the same point he had tried to make the other 5 million times we've had this talk. "Dad I love him, it's no different from the way you feel about mum, can't you see that?" I argued with him, getting frustrated.

"No it's not! It's completely different, don't compare your mother and me to that" he lifted his finger, shaking, and directed it straight at Jake. Poor Jake he always got hit hard by dad but he knew nothing was going to change; mum was on my side. Rosalie left the room, obviously feeling awkward about the father daughter stand-off going on.

I turned to look at Jake still lying on my couch to see that his was trembling with anger; I knew he got upset when dad got like this but never so much that he might get so angry that he would phase. I retreated to Jake's side immediately trying to see if I could calm him down. Dad saw it too and backed off quickly but stayed in the room to make sure I was safe. I hugged Jacob tightly half trying to restrict him the other half trying to calm him.

The next thing I knew, I was falling … and then WHACK my head hit the back of the desk. I could feel the blood running down my neck but that's not what terrified me the most, the next thing I heard was a skin crawling snarl. I looked up quickly to see that dad had pushed Jake, now a werewolf, against the far wall and both were struggling. I watched on in terror as Jake then tightened his grip on dad and threw him across the room, breaking through the glass of my only bedroom window. Jake quickly darted across the room and leapt out the window in hot pursuit of my father. It took me only a second to pull myself together as I raced out the window to follow them. As I jumped I screamed for mum, Emmett anyone who could help me break this fight up, as I was sure to need it. I landed with a thud and my eyes searched frantically for both of the men that I loved … both in such different ways. In a second I had located them, it wasn't hard what with all the stillness of the forest plus all the commotion that they were making. I sprinted over to them screaming and pleading with them to stop. I wasn't alone now, mum, Rosalie and Alice were pulling me back, trying to restrain me but obviously too caught up with what was happening in front of them otherwise they would have had me inside in an instant. Emmett and Jasper had trenched on ahead going to intervene.

CRUNCH, the deafening sound of many bones cracking echoed through my ears, Emmett and Jasper hadn't broken it up in time. Tears flowed from my eyes and when I heard Jacob's yelp of agony I pushed past the others to go and investigate. I couldn't see them … they had moved into the forest, but it didn't matter all I had to do was follow the trail of blood … Jake's blood. When I reached the boys they were all congregated around a limp human body on the forest floor. I charged through their huddle and almost fell to Jacob's side, just wanting to be near him. It took me a while to notice that dad wasn't there but I didn't care he was the one who had done this to him.

"Jake can you hear me, please open your eyes", I suddenly broke the silence as it was obvious that his injuries were pretty severe, even for a werewolf. I waited for his response but nothing, fear and anxiety swept through my body at once as I came to realise that he was completely out of it … or worse.

I turned quickly and spat at Emmett "Get Carlisle … NOW" as Emmett pivoted and exited the clearing a flood of guilt came over me, normally I wouldn't be so rude but this was urgent.

In the midst of things to my relief, he came around. Although I hadn't noticed, my eyes had been locked on the exact spot that Emmett had disappeared waiting for Carlisle to come back, something warm touched my hand and startled me. I swivelled on the ground my eyes locked into his, a sigh of relief escaped from my mouth. His lifted his weak arms to cradle my face, his was breathing heavily as he spoke, "Ness … I'm … so … sorry, I …" I lifted my finger to his lips.

"Don't say anything, none of this was your fault" I said hoping that this would comfort him although it seemed to unsettle him further.

"No … it was, I don't know what came over me, I'm so sorrr…" his last word slurred as his eyelids fluttered close, panic set it and my heart faltered but then a hand on my shoulder, it was Carlisle he smiled trying to reassure me and then all of a sudden my panic was replaced with calmness … Jasper must still be here.

"Don't be upset Renesmee, he will live but it's going to be a tough recovery … we need to get him back to the house so that I can properly assess him". Carlisle hadn't even finished and Jake had been swooped up in Emmett's arms Jasper also there for support.

Back at the house dad was there but kept his distance, I didn't want to be anywhere near him at the moment I was too angry with him. I needed to be with Jacob but alas no one was keen to have me around him while Carlisle worked vigourously to mend all Jake's broken bones, racing against the werewolf genetics of rapid healing. Mum had taken dad away she wanted to have a talk with him; at least he was getting in trouble and Esme was helping Carlisle with Jacob. That left Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and me in the lounge room. They all were sitting down, 8 amber eyes locked on me as I paced the floor over and over again. Hours passed and I fell asleep. When I woke my head was in Rosalie's lap and she was in a trance just brushing her fingers through my thick, brown, wavy curls. I sat bolt upright as soon as my memory had returned and turned to find Carlisle's face, searching each pair of eyes focused on me I found the ones I was looking for.

"How is he? Will he be alright? Can I see him?" all my questions seemed to flood out at once, there was so much I didn't know.

Carlisle chuckled and began," Yes he will be fine don't worry Nessie, um I think that would be ok if you see him but be gentle he's resting". He then turned and led me up the winding staircase to Jake's room. I walked through the doorway and found my Jacob lying helplessly in his bed his whole torso covered with bandages.

"Oh my god" was all I could manage to say as I crept forward, he turned his head to smile at me and reached out his hand. I sat on the edge of the bed trying not to jostle it too much; I could see he was in pain.

He pulled my face closer to him and then kissed my tears away one by one as they rolled down my face, "You silly girl, why are you crying? I'm here aren't I?" he laughed a bit when he spoke.

"Yeah but look at you, I can't believe dad, how could he do this? I never want to talk to him again" I started to get enraged but slowly overrode it.

"Renesmee" he was serious now "your dad was just trying to protect you, you can't be mad at him, he just did what he thought was best for yo…"

I cut him off with a shrill, "PROTECTING ME? Come on Jake look at you I know it's not as bad as it looks and you'll probably be alright by tomorrow but that doesn't make what he did ok. He needs to learn that you and me are meant for each other and we are going to be together no matter what he thinks", midway through my sentence I had calmed down and began to think rationally again. Jake knew this too and didn't have to say anymore to me, we just savoured the moment together and lay on the bed. I put my head to his chest and he lightly pressed his lips to my head. I thought of turning around and kissing him but after all that's what had gotten him all banged up in the first place. I was in my happy place it was me and Jacob alone, all I could ever ask for and I knew he felt the same. My eyelids became heavy and I thought about returning to my bedroom alone but then decided against it, Jake needed me here. I shut my eyes and started to visualise our future together and drifted off to sleep with these images clearly stapled in my mind.

I awoke to find myself all alone in Jacob's bed, where was he? Could anything have happened to him? I started to freak out and quickly got up to search the house but I didn't go too far when I found him and my dad sitting at the dining room table, I still hadn't talked to him since the incident and had no intention on starting anytime soon. "Hey babe, how are you feeling this morning?" I said as I took a seat next to him and kissed him a little too passionately for company.

"I'm fighting fit, healthy as a horse honestly" he told me and I believed him, he was the only one I could trust. Just then mum appeared around the corner and sat next to dad, this was starting to look very much like an intervention.

"What's going on?" I questioned as all their gazes were locked on me.

"Nessie, you need to talk to your dad, you know how horrible he feels about the whole situation, please don't make him torture himself more" mum was pleading with me. I could see the sadness in her eyes, ok I'll do this… for her wait what did she say about torture?

Dad answered my thought, "Ness, where do you think we have been? Holidaying? I had to take some time out to readjust my perspective on the whole thing and me and your mum have a proposition for you".

I was still bitter but proposition, this had me intrigued, "Well, what did you have in mind?" my curiosity had gotten the better of me once again.

"Well me and Edward were wondering if you two would like to move into the same room. We trust you two and we know that you would never abuse it." Mum said a smile now curling at the edges of her lips.

I was overcome with joy, 'Are you serious this is awesome mum thanks so much and dad' I paused and looked at him. "I'm really sorry that I got angry at you, I know you were just thinking about what's best for me and I forgive you". I got up and went over to embrace my dad; I knew I couldn't stay angry at him forever.

He held me close and didn't let go, he leant his mouth down to my ear and whispered "I love you" and then touched the locket that mum had given me for my very first Christmas and continued, "more than my own life".

It felt good to be at peace with my dad, it was so easier to go around in life being nice to people then to be holding grudges that's what mum always used to say. We all drifted into the lounge room where our family already was. Dad and me sat at the piano together, he was trying to teach me how to play my own lullaby but I still liked mums the best. Esme, Rosalie and mum were flicking through this month's issue of Vogue commenting on the fashions and trends . Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper were sitting on the couch, mouths gaping and eyes glued to the flat screen watching the Super Bowl. Alice was sitting next to Jacob, they had become quite good friends every since they had been forced to live together. Everyone was in their own world concentrating on what was right in front of them. Alice's eyes then went into a trance; she must be having a vision, nothing out of the ordinary. Then she gasped something that none of us were expecting, we all surrounded her at once waiting for her to snap out of it and tell us what she saw. It happened only a few minutes later although you couldn't really tell, her eyes were wide open, shock read across her face and she explained to us in one word what she had seen. "Renesmee" she whispered eerily. My heart skipped a beat and then all I could see was the blackness overcrowding my vision.

**So this is my first chapter, again if you are reading it for the second time.**

**I'm sorry if it is not exactly the same as it was originally but I had to put it back together the best as I could.**

**Please read and REVIEW as it is going to take ALOT of encouragement to re-write the story so far.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW as I need to write the WHOLE thing again as my brother got a virus and my computer had to be wiped!!!**

**If you favourite me please leave a comment, it is nice to hear from you, I hate to be such a nag and pester for reviews I promise I won't do it again to this degree EVER!!!!**

**Thanks so much for putting up with me,**

**Zoe :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The thick black fog faded as I became aware of my surroundings once more. Everything was slowly becoming clear again and I could now make out the hushed murmurs of my family. They all seemed distressed.

It was dad who I heard first "What could they want? They already know she's not harmful we've been through all that. Alice got back, look for something that might have started this". Alice sighed, she'd probably been asked this question a million times, this made me ponder. How long had I been out for?

"Edward, I told you, I can't see a thing, there's something that is blocking me … wait she's coming around". Even though my eyes were closed I could feel the breeze of cool air blow onto my face as everyone came to surround me. I started to open my eyes but everything just felt so heavy. I managed to finally get them open although regretted it as I came face to face with 7 pairs of eyes staring at me, the pair closest to me however, were the only ones that were blinking, I sat up quickly startled by all the attention. I smiled, I couldn't help it, it was an automatic reaction every time I gazed into his incredible gorgeous, angelic face. His expression went from worried to relief in an instant and then returned my smile. "You scared me there for a second" he said as he started to stroke my face. 'Yeah haha, sorry about that" I smirked, a bit embarrassed by my fainting spell. He then kissed my forehead and put his hand in mine. I know I shouldn't be complaining about all the affection he was giving me but something was off. My eyes narrowed as I soon became sceptical of his whole charade. "What's going on?" I asked starting to feel a bit anxious; I hadn't had time to even notice everyone else's expressions. My eyes skimmed the room, no one wanted to make eye contact, they were all avoiding something … but what? "What?" I repeated, my voice barely a whisper, I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. I sat up straighter and tilted my head back trying to make it easier for myself to breathe. Jake wrapped his arms around me, trying to soothe me, but the only thing that would bring me comfort was if I knew what they were hiding. It was mum who finally answered me, although she could barely talk either, "the Volturi" … this had me confused … should the name mean anything to me? It did ring a bell though, where have I heard it before? Dad heard my thoughts and decided the answer my questions out loud.

"There is a group of vampires called the Volturi, any they are like the mafia/ royal family of the vampire world. They uphold our laws and there number one priority is secrecy. Most of them possess gifts like you and me and they are very brutally used".

"You don't remember this because you were very young but when you were little; someone saw you and mistook you for an immortal child. The Volturi then came to" he paused, obviously the memory was painful for him to re-live, "terminate you as you were seen as a threat to upholding our secrecy, fortunately for you, we convinced then with a little help that you were harmless and then to our relief they decided to leave you be" everyone seemed unsettles by what dad had brought up, like they had been trying to suppress the haunting memory.

"So what does this mean then? Why are they coming now?" I asked trying to make reason of the situation with the information that had been supplied to me. Carlisle answered me now; it kinda got confusing getting all my answers from different sources "We don't know, that's what makes it so bad, what could have triggered them to come?" he was now in deep thought trying to answer his own question.

I barely noticed Alice in the corner; eyes closed trying to replay the vision to see anything else. She opened her eyes; it felt like déjà vu as I saw the same expression of shock now tied with confusion that read all across her face. "They're coming alone, just Marcus, Caius, Aro with only Felix and Demetri but why?" her speech came to a sudden halt as her vision continued. I hated the awkward silence as everyone waited to hear what would happen next. Mum then came over and settled herself in beside me on the couch, she looked terrified. I still didn't understand the whole situation, why were they coming? Just then Alice got hit with another vision; this was unusual she never got them so frequently. Jake, who had been quiet all this time put his head on my shoulder; he must have understood what was going on better than I did. I took his head in both my hands and stared into his big, onyx eyes; his face read exactly the same as mums, they all weren't telling me something. Dad's gasp startled me; the room had been so quiet, all that could be heard were the short quickened breaths that escaped from both mine and Jake's lungs.

"NO", dad's face matched his voice; he was in total disbelief at what he saw in Alice's vision. I swallowed heavily, this must have been bad, I have never seen him or anyone else for that matter act like this. Mum saw dad's reaction and left my side to go and embrace him. He hugged her tightly, then almost stumbled, dad was always the strong one, what could the future possibly hold to make him act like this, appear so weak? Then … it clicked, after the first vision Alice had said my name, mum and dad looking so vulnerable when all I had ever seen them as was nothing but strong, it was me, I was the one they wanted, the one they would come in search of.

The golden question had still been unanswered: why? What could have changed their minds about me? What had happened? I knew dad could hear me, I wanted him to answer me … I was so scared; I still didn't have a clue as to what worried everyone so much. Dad, I thought, give it to me straight, what's going on? Not all of us can read Alice's mind, tell us, all of us. "Renesmee, they're coming to harm you, they want you dead" he stopped abruptly, he couldn't go on. Mum started to whimper and I'm sure if she had any tears to cry, they would be streaming down her face right about now. I leant into Jake now; I didn't need the full story to know that if the Volturi wanted me dead, it was definite that I was going to die.

I couldn't die though; leave Jake and my family behind? I can't, this can't happen, NO! Dad hearing my thoughts now left mum with Esme to come and look after me. He couldn't even bear to look at my face; he just wrapped his arms around me and kept them there. In the midst of things I hadn't noticed that I was crying, it felt so odd looking around at everyone's faces knowing that I was the only one, besides Jake, who could cry even so I could hear the tearless sobs that surrounded me. It saddened me to see the pain that was being inflicted on my family; Rose was shaking uncontrollably in Emmett's arms. Esme and mum were shattered, Carlisle was trying to reassure then both but what could he say? Alice was just sitting in the corner, Jasper's arms around her. Her expression was blank and staring, I wonder if vampires could go into shock? She just sat there motionless; it was now more than ever that she had ever looked even remotely close to a vampire. Lastly I turned and faced Jake, everyone had some sort of support and then he just sat there, looking so out of place, I wrestled out of dad's vice-like embrace around me and then went over and nestled myself into Jacob's hold. The warm touch of his skin felt nice on mine, almost soothing, but nothing would soothe me now, not after this bombshell had just been dropped.

Alice finally broke the silence "oh my god" was all she managed to get out as she watched on in horror at the vision playing through her head. I was almost positive that she was seeing my death and how it would all happen.

"Impossible" dad then said, I hated that only those two knew what was going on, it was unfair, the suspense was excruciating.

"What, what is it?" mum asked frantically, gasping between each breath as she was so overcome with emotion. "They're dead, dead" Dad answered although his eyes were fixed on the photo of me hanging on the wall. "Who Edward, whose dead?"Emmett interjected, he had a puzzled look on his face, I'm sure that it was almost identical to what my face looked like; this was the first time that he'd said anything since I'd come around.

Alice replied" Almost the whole guard Jane, Alec, Renata, Chelsea even the wives. The brothers, Felix and Demetri are all that's left. How is that even possible?"

Gasps came from everyone, disbelief scrambled across their faces. "What happened?" Esme asked searching both of their faces for an explanation. It took them both just one word to explain although of course I didn't get it. "Nahuel" they said together in perfect harmony, immediately everyone understood. Everyone but me.

"Nahuel was the reason the Volturi let you live the first time" Dad began answering my unspoken question "he's exactly like you, half human and half vampire. He showed the Volturi that you could grow up to be tame and civilised. But now he's just sentenced you to your death" a snarl ripped from his throat, he was angry.

"The Volturi killed his father and Nahuel didn't mind, but once they killed his sisters, he began a murderous rampage through all of Volterra. He wanted revenge for what happened to his sisters, the brothers and Demetri and Felix were away at the time. The fool has made us suffer, you're now seen as extremely dangerous and need to be taken out of the picture".

Oh, so now I understood, the man who had once saved my life has now sentenced me to die. "When" Rose managed to get out , she was still upset about the whole situation.

"3 months tops, they are still planning how they can do this, how they are going to get around all of us … Oh no … they're recruiting new members Zafrina, Benjamin, Kate. How can they all do this to us? What are we going to do, we barely convinced them last time that she is fine, now they have all the evidence they need to hurt her" Alice got more and more distressed as her plea went on.

I wasn't really listening though, I was paying more attention to mum, she was still beside herself, my heart was breaking for her. I went over and sat down next to her, she was now sitting at the dining room table. I put my hand on her back and she looked up, her eyes were dry but red. She then put her hands around my waist to pull me closer to her; this was killing me to see her like this. She put her head on my shoulder and then burst into hysterics. "Mum" I was fighting back tears now, "don't worry I'm going to be fine, it will work out, I promise you, come on mum please don't cry". I couldn't hold them in any longer. They suddenly filled my eyes to the rim and spilled down my face. Then, another pair of cool hands were around us, cradling us both. Dad was now rocking us back and forth, trying to comfort us.

I wasn't a very good girlfriend; I kept on forgetting that Jake was in the room. Stay with mum she needs you, I thought for dad and then he loosened his grip on the both of us and let me wiggle my way out. I walked slowly across the room to Jake; he was now staring out the window, standing with his arms folded across his chest. I hugged him tightly from behind, resting my head between his shoulder blades. He turned slowly to face me, he had been crying too, this made me feel even guiltier. I couldn't bear to look him in the eyes. I didn't deserve him. "You gotta tell me what you're thinking" he said to me. I stretched my arms up to touch his face with my hand. I then concentrated on all the memories Jacob and me had shared together. The first real touch, the first kiss, the way I felt whenever he was near and then when he wasn't, and of course the undying love I felt for him.

The next thing I knew he had lifted me into his arms, pulling my whole body up off the floor so that my lips could touch his. His lips separated and his tongue found mine. This was the first time he had kissed me like this. I think recent events had made him think about our relationship. I pulled away, and he looked at me trying to figure out why I had broken away from what might just be the best kiss of my entire life. I started to cry again, I was distressed by the fact that I only had 3 months to live, only 3 months left with him. The thought was almost unbearable. "Ness it will be ok, I promise you, I'm not going down without a fight" he finally said. "No, just because my time seems to be up doesn't mean that you should be stupid and fight a battle that we all know is already lost, you have to do it for me, keep my mum and everyone else going. Please do it for me" I said while I was sobbing, I wasn't going to let him ruin his life too. "You're not going anywhere, I'm going to make sure of it I promise you" he said now, I wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more, me or him. I knew I wasn't going to win this argument so I didn't go any further. I just finished with " You know, no one has ever loved anyone as much as I love you right now".

He laughed and said "Nah that's not true. I know this one guy, he's pretty crazy about you too". I laughed too, I loved to way he always tried to make the best of a bad situation.

"Just shut up and kiss me" I giggled as I leaned up to his face to mould out mouths together once more. And for a second I forgot about my unavoidable future that faced me in the not-so-near distance.

Three months, that's all I had to live my life to the fullest and I was going to damn well make sure that me or Jake for that matter didn't miss out on anything that life has to offer.

**A/N: YAYY Are you guys proud of me or what?**

**I actually re-pieced the second chapter and have started on the third one.**

**REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS are what has kept me going and the more I get the sooner you will get the next chapter.**

**Tell your friends about me, Add me as a favourite story whatever.**

**Love it, Hate it, Doesn't Matter, Just Enjoy and Review It!**

**Lots of Love**

**Zoe**

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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Having school on Monday felt good, like it was bringing normality back into my life ... well as normal as vampires, werewolves and freaky half breeds can get. It was really tiring at school, I always had to be thinking about what I said, being careful that I didn't say anything about werewolves, vampires or that I didn't call my parents Mum and Dad ... it was so confusing.

I walked into English and took my regular seat next to Jacob which was just behind Mum and Dad's table. As Mr Colletti droned on about Romeo and Juliet I put my head on Jake's shoulder not really paying attention to what was happening just enjoying the quietly intense moment. It was then that I saw dad stiffen, which I knew was an automatic reaction when he "heard" something he didn't like. Mum grabbed his arm and I saw her lips move too quickly for me to comprehend what she was saying. Before Dad even had the chance to respond Mr Colletti spoke, "Miss Cullen, surely there is nothing more important than the first act of the most greatest love story of all time now is there, so zip it". Mum looked down, even now that she couldn't blush you could tell when she was embarrassed, this wouldn't stop her though, now she would be asking Dad through her thoughts I was sure of it.

The bell finally sounded and we went off to our usual lunch table and met up with Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper. To an average human eye, things would not look out of the ordinary than what it usually was with the mysterious Cullen clan but we all knew better. For one Jacob wasn't actually a Cullen and he looked nothing like the rest of us but at least that fitted with the story of us all being adopted. The news around the school was that Carlisle and Esme were all of our foster parents and that dad and I were siblings, we thought it was best that we claimed to be related from the start what with me looking like him so much. It was easier to say me and mum just looked freakishly alike with her new eyes being amber just like everyone else's. Everyone else except, of course, me and Jake. The second main difference I guess was that at school my name was Vanessa, Mum hated it but Dad had insisted on this, he thought it sounded too much like Esme's to keep it the same, dah she was who I was partly named after. I personally thought it was stupid, we could've gone with the story that she had renamed me but of course, no one listened to my suggestions, they never do. It was alright though because everyone just called me Nessie so, in the end, it did work out ok.

Everyone chatted quietly amongst themselves, including me and Jake although he was doing all the talking and I wasn't really listening. He was going on and on about this car he had seen in the lot, wondering what the turbo speed and velocity of it was and to be honest I couldn't care less. Dad laughed hearing my thought and soon enough I joined him too, this was typical Jacob, cars cars and more cars. I had to focus my thoughts though, I could hear Mum talking to Dad about what he'd heard but Dad couldn't know I was listening. I started to "listen" to Jacob having one ear in each conversation and it seemed to be working, Dad continued talking to Mum on the same subject. "When, do you know?" Mum whispered she was freaking out, this had to be about me.

"No, he's only made the decision, he hasn't thought anymore about it yet" Dad answered, he was trying to work this out himself. I wonder who they were talking about, it must be Aro he has the most power out of all of them. I quietened, I had to control my thinking.

"We shouldn't tell her, she doesn't need to know this, she's got enough on her plate" Mum told Dad.

"Bella, love, we're too late, she saw me in English she knows" he paused for quite a long time and then continued talking a bit louder, "And now she's in trouble because she's listening" he turned his head towards me arching and eyebrow in disapproval. Damn, busted I knew I shouldn't have been eavesdropping but when they keep stuff from me, I worry and they know that.

"Ness" Dad began answering me, "we don't mean to be deceitful, we both love you, you know that we just care so much about you that we're trying to protect you. It's wrong, I know, to lie and I promise that I'll try and be more truthful with you." he stopped and lowered his voice, "I'm your dad though and I loose my mind sometimes. Can you forgive me?"

"I just wish you wouldn't keep things from me I'm 16 not 6" I argued, they always treat me like this, it's so belittling.

Dad then started with a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, "Well now, technically you're only 7 years old" mum started laughing, and it wasn't even funny. I hate parent jokes.

"Well then technically" I tried to mock him by sticking my fingers up making inverted commas but it didn't work out so well, " you're like 109, ancient, so shouldn't you be dead? huh?" I was pretty happy with the comeback, I have to admit it was borderline lame though.

They seemed to appreciate it though, "Touche" we're Dad's words.

"You still haven't told me what's wrong though, trying to distract me are we?" I questioned Dad, knowing only too well that this was exactly what he was trying to do.

"Renesmee, I don't know" he was very hesitant, I thought he'd blown it too, three girls that just walked past our bench had all heard him call me Renesmee. Nothing would come of it though, everyone just accepted that we we're different and strange.

"Come on Dad, this involves me I do have a right to know" I looked at him with my eyes, it was my secret weapon, all because they reminded him of mum. He was a sucker for them. Although mum on the other hand was not. She thought it was cruel.

"No, Renesmee, don't do that, now stop it" she tried to sound authorative but it was hard what with everyone watching.

"No, no, it's alright Bella, we can tell her it's alright" his hand was on mum's face, stroking it, reassuring her. And it did soften her up. And also made me feel like hurling. Dad laughed and then kissed her.

"Oh Edward, come on I don't know" she was undecided now, "it's not even about her, she doesn't need to know" she was thinking things over in her head. Wait, its not about me? I certainly didn't see that one coming.

"Bella, I know it's not about her but it does concern her, she's right you know, she is 16 physically speaking of course" Dad was on my side now too, it wouldn't take long now before she was convinced.

"Oh please don't do this to me" she muttered in defeat, "oh ok but at home not here and when we tell the whole family, now is that clear?" she asked, eyeing us both down.

"Super", dad piped.

"Crystal" I added.

"You two are a force to be reckoned with I swear of it" Jake laughed and tussled my hair, I giggled and shuffled my chair away from my parents and moved closer to Jake. Although I still didn't know what trouble was looming around the corner, I felt peacefully at ease, and this time it wasn't Jasper's doing. All would become clear in a few short hours and for some odd reason I felt comfort from that.

The History lesson seemed to be endless until the final bell rang, I was relieved beyond belief. For a moment there I thought I might actually die of boredom, and I know how hard it is to die for someone like me. Laughing to myself I hoped into the back seat of my BMW with Jake while Mum took the passenger seat.

Back at the house everyone casually walked into the house although I was all but running. I really wanted to hear what was happening but now that the moment was closer I had a sick feeling in my stomach and all the calm I had once felt was gone, completely vanished. We all convened around the dining room table that was never used. It felt very formal as the whole family sat down, not something that I was used to. This was it, I was now feeling completely ill I thought I might pass out for a second. Dad all of a sudden cleared his throat, it was always either him or Alice who ran these kinds of family meetings. "Well, everyone, it seems like we have another problem" he began. I listened eagerly waiting to hear what it was but also trying to keep my lunch in my stomach, he continued waiting even though it was evident that everyone was intently listening, what was he waiting for?

"It seems that Charlie is going to call" he finally spat out. Gasps and no's escaped from everyone, Esme started crying. However I didn't say anything, I was in shock so much that I barely noticed all of their reactions.

"Grandpa? Are you serious?" I was beaming ear to ear, I hadn't heard from him in ages. This was fantastic. I went over to Jake and hugged him, he also seemed pleased with the news.

"Great, I haven't seen Charlie in ages. It'll be good to catch up with him after last time" Jake chuckled at the end. There was obviously a joke I was missing.

"This is awesome" I exclaimed when I was cut off suddenly.

"No Renesmee, don't you see, this is catastrophic" mum exasperated, throwing her hands in the air.

"Why mum, I thought you wanted to see him as much I did?" I questioned her, now confused with the polar opposite reactions of my family. "Wait, there's something that I'm missing out on again, isn't there?"

"Yes, Ness, there is" it was Aunt Rosalie who answered me now. She had gotten up from her seat next to Emmett and strolled casually over to gently place her hands around my shoulders, staring at me now affectionately. It was Rose that confused me the most, she insisted that I was the most heavenly thing on the planet, but she got me and I'm glad that she was my godmother.

Dad interceded straight after Rose, "This time we haven't been keeping things from you, they just never exactly came up. You're right in thinking that your grandfather calling is wonderful but we can all see what lies beyond it"

"You had me until "what lies beyond it" that just confused me big time" I asked bewildered.

"You see now young Renesmee, we're all thinking of later on, down the road when the Volturi come to umm .... ahhh ... visit. Aro is a talented soul, and he possesses a gift much like your father's with a bigger difference being that with one touch and he will know everything that has ever passed through your mind" Carlisle left it there, he felt I could figure the rest out for myself. So if Aro would know everything I had thought, then he would know about ... "No, they couldn't, not Grandpa he doesn't know anything they're wrong" here came that sick feeling again. Rose was hugging me now, she could see how distraught I was getting.

"Ness they will only see that he knows too much already, he hasn't seen his daughter in 6 years and he finally sees her again and she looks exactly the same as when she left. That's enough for them" Alice answered.

" No but it's ok all we have to tell him is no, it's fine guys" It felt like stating the obvious.

"Well, we can try but he's insisting on a visit one way or another, we can avoid it but for how long? We just have to wait till tomorrow thats when he's planning on making the call" Dad

informed everyone.

"But what if I just go alone, that way they wouldn't know anything" Mum suggested, she was thinking hard about anything that would save Grandpa. This was her biggest fear, her family getting hurt because of what we all were.

"That might've worked, if only we possessed the same power that you have" Carlisle reminded her.

"Guys, I don't know why you're all getting upset anyway. Now that the Volturi don't have their key offensive guards, we'll be able to cram them" Emmett offered. This was typical Uncle Emmett, never brushing the opportunity for a fight that was brewing.

"Of course you would think of that, wouldn't you" Alice was rolling her eyes, she looked incredibly annoyed by Emmett's statement.

Uncle Jasper, who had been sitting quietly off to the side for the duration of the meeting, decided to voice his opinion, "has it occurred to any of you that Aro won't be planning on another discussion" everyone stared at him perplexed as he continued, "he's not going to think about touching any of us until it's ... time. So Bella and Nessie could go to visit Charlie without them ever knowing."

"No, definitely not. That is not happening, it's too risky" mum raised her voice unnecessarily.

"Bella, just listen please? hear me out ok. You, Edward and Renesmee go back to Forks to see Charlie" mum pouted at the idea already but alas Uncle Jasper ignored her and went on, "you visit, he's satisfied and then you come home. Even if then, Aro decides to search through anyone's head which I highly doubt he will, we have 2 months to figure something out and with your shield the odds are in our favor. Who knows what could happen in 2 months time. Think about it Bella" he left it there, trying to make the offer as appealing as possible for Mum to consider it. Much to my surprise, it was evident that the arguments that Uncle Jasper had just brought up had Mum at a stand still. She looked towards Dad, seeking his opinion on the proposition.

"Bella, I don't think we have any other options and Jasper's idea is pretty good" Dad had also sided with Jasper.

"Edward, I can't do this to Charlie" Mum heaved a heavy sigh, "just promise me this is going to work" she pleaded towards him.

"I promise you that I'm going to try damn hard to prevent anything to happen to us, the whole family including Charlie" Dad replied to mum.

"Ok then, I guess we have some organising to do. I'll talk to him and we'll work it out. It'll be fine" mum went on trying hard to convince herself that Dad was right and had everything under control. That obviously was the cue that the meeting was adjourned for the time being, as everyone got up and left. Leaving just Jake and me at the table, he then took my hand and we got up together and strolled off up the stairs to our room. I giggled quietly to myself, Jake heard me though and arched one eyebrow, inquiring as to what was so funny. Our room, it just sounded too perfect. "Don't worry, it's stupid" I told him as he sprawled across his bed and encircled me in his giant arms. It was moments like these that I couldn't imagine how life got any better. He had me and more importantly I had him. He then stretched out on the bed, now lying down, and pulled me abruptly onto his chest, he was so big compared to my tiny frame, I was putty in his oh so capable hands, with one movement he could squash me but he was always careful, nothing concerned Jake more than my safety. We both said little as the day drew to a close he just held me close to him and kissed my hair, this was more than enough for me. I felt my eyelids starting to droop and gave in.

I woke up later that night, we had both fallen asleep at six p.m., but we had an excuse the last two nights we had been up, too worried to sleep. I looked at Jake's alarm clock to see that it was now ten but I wasn't tired, I got up and walked downstairs to get a glass of water. Mum and Dad just watched me as I trudged through the kitchen in a zombie – like state and then returned up stairs. Jake was still sound asleep snoring, I felt a bit silly as I tucked him into his bed properly and kissed the tip of his nose. I then kissed him good night and crawled across the floor to the opposite side of the room where my bed was located. We shared a room but even Mum had insisted on separate beds, but I was in total agreement there. I'm sure Dad and Aunt Rose had chosen the bed placements too but honestly I couldn't care less I was with him and that's all that really mattered. Whatever else the world decided to through at us, was not important although I'm not sure there is anything else left for the universe to present us with. I switched off my bedside lamp and started to think about me and Jake, and the content continued long into the night as I dreamed about us and only us.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I didn't want to let go of my dream, it was too perfect. A simpler world, where there was no such things as humans or murderous vampires just us, alone, our family. No one to ever harm us, all the time in the world, life was wonderful. All my dreams a reality, all my fears non – existent, I felt very reluctant to open my eyes, because as soon as I did, my perfect dream would vanish, never to be seen again, of course only in my memories but this was enough. I could show Jake and he could be part of it too. I lay in bed for what seemed like an eternity, awake but keeping my eyes shut tight, continuing my dream although I was a bit more aware of it this time.

I finally decided that it was time to make an appearance downstairs and shuffled slowly out of bed, I felt so fatigued even though it was 11:30 and I had slept for over 12 hours. I guess this meant that I wasn't going to be attending school today. I dressed in a hurry just throwing on my skinny jeans and a singlet, I didn't have time to be glamorous today and I just prayed that Aunt Alice had gone to school today otherwise I was in for a very long lecture about fashion and dressing. I continued making myself look decent, I went into our en suite and washed my face and pulled a brush through my incredibly knotty hair. When I had decided that I was about as good as I was going to get, I dawdled slowly downstairs going to inspect what I'd missed out on while I had been asleep, there was always something.

I made it to the foot of our winding staircase to find an empty house. This I was not expecting. I continued my way through the house checking the lounge room, dining room and study for signs of my family but nothing. "Jake" I yelled out, hearing my echo cascade up the stairs, waiting for a response. But nothing. This was unusual, I made my way to the back porch and onto the lawn and searched the forest line with my eyes, "hello? anyone?" I whispered, not expecting anything anymore. I turned back into the house and ran to the garage, Dad's, Carlisle's and Rose's cars were all gone, leaving only mine and Mum's out on the driveway. Panic start to set in as I felt my heart accelerate and my palms go sweaty. My breaths were short as I tried to reason as to why no one was here, and my mind went straight to one conclusion. The Volturi had come early. Tears started to stream down my face as I pictured the faces of my family sacrificing themselves to save me. Just then a cool hand grasped my forearm and jerked me around to face them. This was it, at least I would be with my family soon.

The pair of eyes that I met, however were amber, relief set in at once. "Why are you crying?" Mum asked me looking at me as if I were a complete idiot.

"Oh mum, you freaked me out" I said, the tears resurfacing once again, she pulled me closer to her to comfort me. " Where were you?" I questioned her.

"I was out hunting with Esme, we went a little further than usual, that's all, I left you a note in the kitchen, didn't you see it?" she replied.

"The kitchen? Are you serious, that would be the last place I would look for you, you need a better spot mum" I giggled, the kitchen I mean come on!

"I'm sorry sweetie, I guess I wasn't thinking was I" she said, then changed her tone to make it lighter, "well today it's just you and me, Esme has gone off to do some shopping with Alice, Carlisle's at work and everyone else is at school. I thought I'd let you sleep, you looked so peaceful, you were talking too, sorry I guess that's something you got from me" she laughed.

"Jake went to school with Dad?" I was in shock, this couldn't end well.

"Don't worry Renesmee, your Dad insisted on it , he wants to try and make things work and I think we should be encouraging them both" Mum explained.

"No, no I agree it's just weird" I said.

"So, what did you want to do today, we have all day" she smiled, I liked this we never got to spend time together, just us.

"I know this is probably impossible to believe but I'm still really tired, could we just stay here and watch a movie?" I asked her, hoping that she was up for just chilling.

"Yeah, why not, it's either that or we meet up with Alice and Esme, that could be disastrous" she laughed and I did too, neither of us particularly liked it when Alice convinced us to go shopping with her.

So our day was planned, we set ourselves up in front of the plasma and picked out some chick flicks to watch and just relaxed, enjoying each others company. Funnily enough I feel asleep again halfway through the first movie. I woke up, stretched across the lounge, Mum sitting on the floor next to my head. "Hey, sleepy, gosh I've never seen you so tired. You haven't sleep so much since you were a newborn. Are you alright?" she asked me, the slightest hint of concern wavered in her voice.

"Yeah, I guess I've just been stressed out a bit with everything that's been going on" I admitted to her, she would just worry if I wasn't truthful with her. Although being honest seemed to have put her in an awkward stance.

"Well, I guess that's understandable then, you know honey, I'm so sorry for bringing you into this, it's not fair on you, you didn't ask for any of this" she was apologising. I knew if I told her that this wasn't her fault either, she would just argue with me and say that the whole entire thing was her fault.

"It's ok mum, I'm not sorry" was probably the best option to go with and sure enough she relaxed and focused her attention back to the movie that we were watching although I wasn't that interested in it. Even though we were both watching the movie, I could tell Mum's attention was elsewhere watching me closely, seeing how I was coping. I wonder if she actually knew how to do anything else besides being worried.

The movies final credits started to roll through and then ended. We both just stared at the screen, long after the last name had rolled past but however she seemed just as content to stay in silence not saying anything. We had the time together that we never had so I thought I'd talked to her about something I didn't really know much about, something that I was interested in.

"Hey Mum" I asked her, trying to get her attention.

"Yeah?" she turned to look at me, slightly worried as to what I might ask her.

" I was just wondering ... you know, if you would tell me something" I quizzed her, studying her face and reaction as I spoke. In an instant it had gone from worried to confused.

"Well I guess that would depend on what you wanted to know, I guess" she told me obviously trying to give off subtly that she didn't want an argument.

"No, no don't worry it's not what you're thinking, believe me. I was just thinking before, you actually have never told me how you and Dad met or any other stories about it. I want to know. How does Jake fit into all of this. Would you tell me? Please?" I blurted out in a hurry.

I was surprised by her reaction, she laughed to herself and then turned to answer me, " So many questions you want answered, well I don't see any harm in telling you. I can't believe you have never heard this story before, I guess I forget that you haven't been with us for that long. Hmm gosh let me see. I don't even know where to begin" she paused, back tracking to when her and Dad had first met.

"From the start, I want to hear everything right up until the wedding, Alice has already told me that story, numerous times and we've got all day" I smiled, this was sure to make her happy and forget about what's going on in out lives and then present time.

"Well, it's kinda hard, you see,your human memories fade especially over time, I've tried to hold onto them but forgive me if I'm a bit sketchy with some of the details" she paused, trying to remember how it had all began.

" Well I guess I should start with the first time we saw each other. I had just moved to Forks to live with Charlie, and it was my first day of school. It was last lesson of the day, Biology and my friend Mike had just introduced me to our teacher. There was only one seat left in the entire class, and it was next to Edward. I walked over and sat down on the edge of the bench, you see I'd already been briefed on the mysterious Cullen clan, but the moment I saw his face I knew I couldn't stay away. Although from my perspective it seemed as if he did not return the same interest that I held, he was acting all tense and uptight and left the classroom as soon as the bell went. Little did I know in the beginning, he was a vampire and thirsted for my blood." I shuddered a bit, Dad had always told me how mouth-watering Mum had smelt to him, I could only imagine how hard that first day would've been.

"Anyway, I was always a stubborn teenager, and I didn't give up until I found out. He did help me along the way though. Of course there was the time when I'd almost gotten myself flattened by a van. He ran across the lot and stopped the van right in its tracks, but he claimed that I hit my head and didn't see it right" she was smirking now, remembering how the times had changed. "Anyway it was Jake who really, actually helped me discover what they all truly were, you see, his tribe had all these legends and stories about what they really were. Although Jake never believed any of them at first."

"So, how does Jake fit into all of this anyway?" I asked, this was what I was most interested in.

"I'm getting there, you're just going to have to wait" she laughed, impatient teenage hormones. She rolled her eyes and then began again, picking up a bit later on. "So we went on our first date, he was always quite the charmer, so I'd expected that we were going to go out somewhere fancy for dinner. But instead he took me to play baseball with his family." She paused suddenly, looking hesitant, she was tossing up whether to tell me the next part of their story.

I pressed her, " then what happened, I mean obviously you couldn't of played right?"

"Yeah, I just watched it was surprisingly fun actually. I'm not sure if I should tell you the rest, you're so young" she bit her lip in confusion and frustration

"Mum, come on I'm not that small anymore. Please? You don't have to go into detail just give me an outline please?" I begged her, the story was interesting so far, I wanted to hear more.

"Oh alright fine, but stop me if anything becomes too overwhelming." she waited for my nod of agreement and continued, " while they were playing, a group of nomadic vampires turned up, one was a tracker, James, and he thirsted for my blood too. Your Dad went to all lengths to protect me, he shipped me off back to Phoenix so that they could ... um ... take care of James. He was smart though, and got me alone" she stopped and rolled up the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a crescent shaped scar on her forearm. I gasped and she immediately looked up to face me, worried that what she'd said had freaked me out.

"I'm sorry, I'll stop now, I knew I shouldn't have said anything" she apologised to me and turned back to the TV.

"No, you didn't it just startled me thats all. This is all new to me remember, trust me I'm fine, go on really" I finished with a giggle to show her that I was not afraid.

"Well, he did save me, and even took me to prom, which to be honest with you frightened me more than my encounter with the tracker. Everything died down for a couple of months and your Dad and I started to "see" each other officially. It wasn't until my 18th and final birthday did things start to heat up again" she stopped again, thinking ahead and editing out bits of the story that she thought my ears should not hear. "something happened and it made your Dad think that it would be safer for me if he wasn't around anymore" she paused again but this time not for me, the memory of Dad leaving her obviously still haunted her. She brightened up though, smiling now as she pressed on " that's where Jake comes in, he became my best friend he was the one I turned to, and he helped me so much. Life went back to a barely livable circumstances after the first few months and I ever so slowly began to mend, but a series of miscommunications lead your Dad to believe that I was dead".

I cut her off quickly, "What miscommunications, how could he have possibly thought that you were dead?" I asked, was Mum's life always so complicated?

"Well, Jake and all his friends were into cliff-diving off these tall rocks, I wanted to escape from everything so I tried it, but he saw it through Alice's thoughts and took it to mean that I had taken my own life. He was distraught by the feeling and went off to the Volturi, I don't think we need any explanations there, and asked if it were possible for them to take his life as he refused to live without me."

"Awwww, how romantic, a little melodramatic but still cute, what happened next?" I added, smiling.

"Alice came to get me, explained things and then we were on our way to Italy to save him" she said.

"It must have felt good, I mean, not that you were racing to save Dad but that, it was you and not him. Like it was your turn to save him, you can't always be the damsel in distress" I told her.

She laughed and nodded in agreement, "we got there just in time, he hadn't done anything too drastic just yet, I jumped into his arms and he didn't believe that we were both still alive. Although we hadn't made it in time to stop the Volturi's awareness of the situation and were summoned to their council for a hearing, I suppose you could call it. It was there that my power was discovered, with all the members of the Volturi unable to harm me with their mind tricks. We were then granted permission to leave the premises, on the condition that it was certain that my future lead to becoming a vampire. When I got home, I'm sure you can imagine how Charlie was, he grounded me and told me I was never allowed to Edward but, of course, I didn't listen." she sighed, reminiscing when life - for her - had been at its simpler stage.

"When life settled back down to as normal as it usually got for me, things were still at complications. You see, Jake and your Dad were sworn enemies, what with him being a vampire and Jake a werewolf, neither of them liked each other or the time that I spent with them. Edward was always too over protective of me and never let me see Jake, this made me upset and so now and again I would sneak out while he was away hunting and go and visit Jacob. My time spent with him, however, was more or less spent fighting. He didn't approve of my chosen life and engaged in confrontations with me on a regular basis. He always caved though and apologised. Things got a little bit more complicated when he admitted to me that he had fallen for me, to make matters even worse he kissed me. There was nothing that I was able to do until he decided he was done, but I tried to punch him afterwards and ended up breaking a lot of bones in my hand" A smile curved on her lips as she finished.

Although, tears welled up in my eyes, she saw this and jumped to the wrong conclusion, " No, silly don't worry I only broke my hand nothing big and I didn't hurt Jake I promise you" she pleaded with me.

"No mum, I don't care about that, in fact, I wish you had" the tears started to stream down my face, making it appear that I was upset, when I was actually incredibly pissed off. I stood up suddenly off the couch and began to pace unnecessarily across the lounge room floor. "I can't believe he did that, how could he? He said I was the only one he'd ever fallen for, he was obviously lying" I couldn't go on anymore, I felt ill.

As I was ranting Mum's face sunk, she hung her head into her hands, "Renesmee, are you telling me that he never told you any of that? I thought he would have. Oh my god what have I done?" she expressed in a horror.

We both couldn't talk, we were still in disbelief at what had just come out. It was then of course that the garage door opened, the others were home from school. _Dad, don't tell him anything,_ I thought in anger, I was going to make him suffer and suffer bad. Dad must have told everyone else to go and hunt or something as it was only him and Jake who entered the lounge room. Everyone was still, Mum and I hadn't changed position since I had found out what had happened all those years ago. Jake and Dad's expressions were the same, confused and slightly worried, even though Dad knew what was going on, he couldn't have anticipated the condition Mum or I would be in. Jake then casually strolled towards me, arms stretched outwards coming to embrace me he could see the tears too and was going to come and comfort me.

I stuck up both my hands, palms forward and hissed each syllable very clearly at him , "Don't you dare even think about touching me" the anger dripped from every word, I was furious but deeper down I **was** upset and did feel rejected to know that he hadn't always wanted me, which is what he had led me to believe in the first place.

He didn't listen to me at all and continued to make his way across the floor. He then held my jaw in a vice-like grip so that I couldn't avoid his gaze. I tried push him off but had no hope in the world, he was physically so much bigger than I was. Dad interceded, "Get your hands off her, or I'll get them off for you" he growled at Jake, now I understood why Dad had such an aversion to Jake and to think all those times I had stood up for him.

Jake broke his gaze with me but not his hold, and turned to glare at Dad, "Not until she tells me what's going on" he stated, he was about the only one who wasn't afraid of Dad.

It was now that Mum unfroze and came to step in, she stood in between Dad and Jake and placed her hands on each of them, she immediately took the dominant role as she spoke to them.

"Edward, back off now, let me handle this" she demanded, eyeing Dad off.

"Jacob, unless you want to lose your arm, I suggest you let go of her ... Now" she said to Jake. They both followed as she had requested, Dad relaxed marginally and eased off. Jake sighed but then did as Mum had instructed and let me go, although he didn't move an inch from where he was standing.

"Ness, what's going on? Tell me" he said once he'd had the chance to calm himself a little.

It happened then that a sudden wave of anger overcame me and I found myself shouting at him, "WHAT'S GOING ON? OH I'LL TELL WHAT'S GOING ON," I began "Ness you're the only girl I've ever fallen for, you're the only one for me" I imitated him "yeah right, little did I know that you had cashed in earlier ... WITH MY MUM" my voice increased in pitch on the last word and as the tears of anger began to ease the tears of sadness started to push their way through. Jake's face was blank and staring, he obviously thought I would never have found out about it.

"Ness, no it's not like that, let me explain" he pleaded with me, starting to approach me again.

"No, just ... don't" I pushed him away again. It all then suddenly became too much to bare, so I decided to give up. I turned and ran up the stairs, trying to hold in my sobs, I didn't want this to be a bigger show then it already was. I bolted into my room and slammed the door, I wanted to be alone for a while. I turned my back and leant against the door, I looked at my dresser and was faced with the photo that Mum had taken of me and Jake last spring, when all the flowers started to bloom. I was hugging him and he was kissing the top of my head, it had once been my favourite photo of us. Once. I grabbed the photo and violently chucked it across the room, it hit the wall on the other side and made a loud BANG in the process. The frame shattered into a million tiny pieces on impact and scattered the floor with glass. I stumbled towards my bed and curled up on top of all the covers. I grabbed my pillow and hugged it, I was all alone, I could finally let all my emotions show and let the tears run there course. It took a while for them to ease up but after a couple of hours they did.

I could hear them all disputing downstairs, I could tell that some of the others were there too listening to what had happened.

"Bella, why would you say that to her. Can you think of why I wouldn't have told her that" Jake was arguing with Mum.

"Well, I thought you would've been honest with her" Mum quickly said, defending her actions.

"It's your own daughter, surely you would've known she would react this way" he accused her.

"Don't talk to her like that, I'm warning you. It wouldn't hurt Renesmee so much now if I tore you limb from limb" Dad raised his voice at Jake.

"Can we just stop talking about killing each other and get back to the issue please?" Mum asked them sarcastically.

I could then hear the thud of footsteps across the floorboards.

"And where do you think you're going?" Mum asked whoever intended to make there way up the staircase.

"To resolve the problem" Jake spat back at her.

"No, you're not. She doesn't want to see you" Dad told him smugly, of course he knew he was right.

"Well someone should go and talk to her, why can't it be me? I'm the one she's angry with" Jake tried to reason with them.

"I'll go, it's my fault this whole thing started anyway" Mum admitted.

"She doesn't want to see me or you either Bella, I think we're just going to have to wait till she's calmed down a bit, it's not your fault this happened anyway don't worry. She's not angry at you, trust me" Dad explained to Mum.

The certain sound of stilettos hitting floorboards arose, Alice or Rose were about to add their bit.

"Let me go and talk to her, she might listen to me. I mean I'm not a part of it so tell me to back off and I will but if I can help, I would like to" Rose suggested to everyone.

"Well, I don't see how it could hurt, just go easy with her Rose" Dad told her.

"Thanks Rose" Mum told her as I heard her shoes now on the stairs.

Funnily enough, the light tap on the door startled me, but I didn't even bother to roll over, my eyes were still welled up with tears and I already knew who it was. She didn't wait for a response and let herself in. She appraised my position on the bed and then made her way around to the side where she could face me. At first she didn't say anything she just sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hands on my either side of my face. Her thumbs them moved to the centre of my face and then spanned back again, trying to wipe the tears, that were now very light, from my face. It was now that I felt stupid for ever wanting to be alone as I realised that having someone to lean on was better than going it alone. I sat up now, and she just watched me taking in my mood and reactions. A round of hysterics suddenly came up, I leant into her and let the tears flow.

She wrapped her arms tight around me and started to rock, she then finally spoke, "Sweetie, its ok, don't worry, it'll be alright" she tried comforted me.

I looked up into her eyes and tried to calm myself down so that I could talk to her. I had to take a few deep breaths before I could speak, "How? How will it be alright? He lied to me Rose, he was the only one I ever fully trusted and he's been lying to me" I blurted out in a hurry.

"Did you ever stop to think he was keeping it from you because he didn't want it to hurt you?" she suggested to me. I couldn't believe that Rose was sticking up for him too, she disliked Jake about as much as Dad did.

"He still should've told me, I have a right to know. Since when did you become so tolerant of him anyway?" I asked her.

She smiled a bit and kissed my forehead, "well, I'm not sticking up for him, believe me on that but I hate to see you so upset and he makes you happy and I can see that. The way he looks at you, it's like you're his god, and you love him and you know that".

"But what he did was horrible, and then to not tell me about it? Relationships are based on trust, and we don't even have that anymore" I mumbled, just realising what I had inferred. "Can we just stop. Please? I don't want to talk about it anymore" I asked Rose, hoping that she wouldn't press me for anymore information.

"Of course sweetie, did you want me to go?" she asked and started to get up, predicting my answer.

I then grabbed her top to stop her, "No, please don't go. I don't want to be alone" my eyes were tearing up again.

"Shhh, it's ok, I'm here and I'm staying" she soothed me, her voice sounded so soft and peaceful.

She just sat there and held me, letting me cry. Hours passed and I had worn myself out so much that I was able to sleep. I was just about to doze off, when I felt Rose's ice, cold hands tuck me into my bed, she then lightly kissed my forehead and I heard her try to sneak out. I kept my eyes shut but listened further. The thud of her footsteps slowly deafened as she made her way back downstairs to report back to my parents.

"How is she?Is she alright?" Mum asked instantly.

"She's ... ok, better than she was a couple of hours ago at least" Rose informed her.

"Can I go and talk to he now?" Jake begged.

"She' sleeping now, I don't think you should. Let her rest, she's had a long day." Rose hissed at Jake.

Someone stamped their foot, "No, I'm going to see her now. I need to talk to her" Jake yelled, he was getting angry.

"No you're not" Dad matched his volume.

"Ok stop it now. You two are acting like children. Can you stop and think about Renesmee here? She's hurting bad and we need to do something about it. I've never seen her so upset" Mum said, taking control of the situation yet again.

"Just let me try, please Bella I'm begging you. I feel so bad that I've hurt her, I want to make it right" Jake pleaded with her.

"Jake, this is as much my fault as it is yours and I want to fix it too but you heard Rose, she's upset and distraught. Just let her sleep and talk to her in the morning. That way she will have had more time to calm down" Mum said.

"I just feel so helpless, not being able to do anything. She's my whole world, I can't lose her" he admitted, he actually sounded worried.

"I know but for the time being, you just going to have to wait. Give her time, she'll come around eventually" Mum said wishfully.

"Ok, first thing tomorrow, I'm going to talk to her and sort it out" Jake told himself, his voice sounded different though like he was fighting back tears.

I couldn't listen anymore, the idea that this was upsetting him as much as it was me was unbearable and ludicrous. Tomorrow then, I would have to face him. I couldn't run, Mum and Dad were on Jake's side, they agreed with his decision. I would have to enjoy my sleep although I highly doubt that it's going to be filled with happiness as I was about to face what was likely going to be one of the most emotionally-challenging days that I have ever experienced in my life. And it was going to happen tomorrow. I took comfort though from the fact that I would be able to escape this life for a couple of hours and enter a land where I could relax and be happy, protected by my mind. I could forget about my troubles and what not and dream about my hopes and fantasies. As I drifted into the world of unconsciousness it felt as if a massive weight had been lifted off my chest and that I could now truly breath.

My mind came back into the present as I now realised it was morning and at first I thought it was the strong light beams on my face that had awoken me but alas I was wrong. A quiet tap on my wooden door sounded for the second time now. I took a deep breath and settled myself as the hinges began to creak as the door slowly opened.

**A/N: Sorry cliffhanger I know but review if you want to hear more**

**Too much drama? It's only because that is what I'm feeling at the moment, my life is a bit of a mess but I'm pushing through, hopefully I'll see the other side of it soon.**

**I have been working on this all night so please tell me what you think it would be greatly appreciated.**

**Hope you liked it**

**Zoe **

**(:**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Come on guys, I was a tad disappointed with last chapters review, only 1? Is it that bad? Really?**

**Please tell me if you think that I should continue because I wouldn't want to be wasting anyone's time.**

**Including my own, seeing that I have to put it back together again, thanks to an evil little brother.**

**So please, if you want to hear more REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**

**Sorry to nag, I won't say anymore so please enjoy Chapter 5:**

Chapter 5

There he stood in the doorway. He didn't even have the guts to look me in the eye and make contact. He stared past his feet through to the floor as he spoke, "Can I talk to you for a minute?" his voice barely audible.

"I guess so" I avoided eye contact too as I mumbled my reply. The tension in the room was excruciating.

He made his way over to his bed, at the opposite end of the room to where I was. Good choice. He sat down on the edge and sighed heavily, playing with his hands as he spoke "Ness, I wanted to talk to you about ... what you heard yesterday" he chose his words very carefully.

"What about it" I snapped back at him.

"Well, I guess I wanted to say I'm sorry" he answered.

"Sorry? Is that all you we're going to say? Are you for real?" I was annoyed at his feeble attempt of an apology.

"Well I am sorry but to be honest I can't see what you're so upset about? What's the big deal" he replied sharply as his anger increased too.

"Big deal? Um ... ok well here's my problem with it" I yelled, now starting to count with my fingers, "First of all, you lied to me. Multiple times. Telling me that I'm the only one you've ever really loved. Second of all, you had the nerve to go on with life not even thinking about the time when you were in love with my mother, not bothering to tell me that you had felt that way. And finally, you don't see why this has upset me so much? Before I was born, you'd had another true love, someone who just happened to be my mum. But you were unlucky. So you decided to settle for me, is that it?"

"No, it was never like that, I swear" he defended himself instantly.

I didn't believe him, with good reason too, " do you know what that feels like? To always know that no matter what you're always going to come in second best to someone else. It doesn't matter how much you love them, it's still not good enough. It hurts bad" the tears were starting up again.

What I'd said had obviously pulled at one of his heart strings. His face had sunk like he couldn't hold his own head up while he spoke, "I know what that feels like, believe me".

I know his sadness should have made me feel bad and sympathetic towards him. But somehow I couldn't. It clicked right after I'd said it that he had known what that felt like. He had felt exactly the same pain that I was feeling now but he had loved my mum. And I knew that that kind of pain left a mark, which could never be fully healed. A thought then occurred to me.

"Do you still love her?" I asked him through my tears, now getting stronger as I waited for what seemed like forever, to hear his answer.

This was the first time since he'd come in, that he had looked me in the eyes. They were all watery too, although none seemed to have spilled just yet.

"Yes" he whispered.

That was it, this had sent me over the edge. The tears excelled almost instantaneously as I turned back into my pillow to hide it from him. He should see it though. I heard his footsteps cross the room and then come to a halt right next to my head. I sat up and advanced to the other side of my bed. He took no notice of me and sat down on the opposite side.

"Please let me explain. It's not what you think" he pleaded with me.

"I don't see how it can be any different. You just admitted you're still in love with my mum" I snapped back at him.

"No, I said I still love her, I'm not **in** love with her anymore. I love her like family, which is what she wanted all along in the first place. I know that for sure. They're two completely different concepts. I'm in love with you, trust me on that. Believe me" he said his hand outstretched, wanting me to take it.

"How can I? You kept that from me? What am I meant to believe anymore?" I questioned him.

"Believe me. Right now when I say you're the most important thing in my life and you will be. Forever" he was begging me.

"How do I know you're not just saying that though?" I asked him, I was trying to make a point.

A heavy sigh escaped from his lungs, "I guess you don't" his face was torn.

We stayed in silence for quite a long time. We were both thinking. About what for him, I had no idea. I decided to break the silence, when it became unbearable.

"A good relationship is based on honesty and trust. Jake, we don't have that anymore. Where does it leave us then?" I admitted to him.

"What are you saying?" he asked me, his eyes deep and searching.

I couldn't look into his eyes anymore, I was feeling sick now. I stared down and the tears, that had still been flowing all this time, started to gather at the end of my lashes and drop onto my bed one by one, making a pool.

"I'm saying, I don't know where we stand anymore. This has changed the whole way I look at you and the way I feel towards you. And. I'm not sure if I like it" I whimpered. I had to be truthful with him though. After all, honesty was a value of mine. It would be hypocritical of me to not tell the truth with him. Even if it was so hard to do.

"No, no. Please don't do this" he was distraught by what I had just told him.

"I'm not doing anything yet" I told him, bluntly. I didn't know what to say.

"Please, I'll change, I promise I'll never lie to you again. Please don't give up on us, not yet. We can get through this together" he was pleading with me.

"I don't want to give up, believe me I don't but I just don't see how we can get through this? I want to get past this but how. What can we do to make it all better?" I probably didn't make much sense, I couldn't even understand myself talk.

"I don't know, I really don't know but if it's what we both truly want then fate will work it out. What do you want? Do you want us to be over?" he said, his face was in pain but also anticipation, waiting anxiously to hear my response.

This I wasn't expecting him to ask me. He caught me off guard and I had to think about my answer before I spoke it. What do I really want?

"I want ... this thing to work out and I want to have you in my life" I answered his question, trying to be honest.

"Well, what's the problem then" he asked me, confusion scrambled across his face.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tightly, I placed my head on my knees too. I couldn't look at him while I spoke.

"I don't know" was all I could whisper, but it was true on so many levels. I had no idea how to fix this and make it better all I knew is that I wanted it to.

He then slid closer to me, I could feel his movements as they jostled the bed. He grabbed my arms and released them from my knees, I didn't struggle. He then put one of his hands under my chin and gently tilted it up so that my face followed.

I stared into his eyes and he looked back into mine, I'm sure our faces looked identically tear – drenched and troubled.

He leaned into me now and for a second I thought he had the nerve to kiss me. Which would've been wrong when I was so upset. But he didn't, he just rested his forehead to mine, he didn't break his gaze in the process, still staring deep in my eyes.

"I love you, more than anything in the world" he paused and looked down at my locket, " even more than my own life".

The tears became prevalent once more, I couldn't not say anything, leave him hanging without a response. "I love you too" I whispered the tears trickling down my cheeks as I spoke.

"But is that enough" my face dropped once more.

"It's a start, and I'm not letting you go. I can't lose you ever" he replied.

He then leaned in closer, hesitant at first but then strong and willing. He crushed his lips to mine and then encircled me in his giant hold. I put my hands on his chest and with a big push, shoved him off me, breaking the kiss instantly. I then lifted my left hand, pulled it back as far as it went and slapped him hard across the face but unlike my mum, my hand was fine afterwards. I got off the bed and walked over to my dresser, I needed to get away from him fast.

He just got me enraged, "Are you kidding me?"

"What, I thought you wanted me to?" he asked, a dumbfounded expression on his face. He was rubbing his cheek that was now red.

"This is exactly the same thing you did to my mum, you got her when she was vulnerable too. You're unbelievable, you know that?" I told him. Throwing my hands up in frustration.

"No, I was just trying to get you to forget about everything, and I thought you would've enjoyed it seeing as we have so much going on" he tried to explain himself.

"Jake, I just told you that I'm not sure if we have a future together and you then saw it fitting to kiss me? Do you have no sense of what's appropriate and what's not?" I was appalled by what he was saying.

"Renesmee, all I know is that I love you so much and that I'll never find someone else that will make me as happy as you do, I can actually prove it to you. There is something that I can tell you that will make you sure of how much I love you. Just please, hear me out for just a minute" he reasoned with me, he was trying to soften me up.

I wouldn't fall for it though, I was much smarter than that. I then left my dresser and walked over to my bedroom door, I opened it as wide as it would go and then turned to stare at him. I wondered if he would get the message I was trying to portray.

"Ness, please don't" he said, it seemed he had got me.

"No, get out now" I told him sternly.

"We haven't finished talking yet and I'm staying" he was reluctant to go.

"Yes we have, I'm done. It's over for now. So please I'm asking you nicely get out of my room" I was getting annoyed that he wasn't respecting my decision.

"It's my room too Ness, just please let us talk a little while longer" he had relaxed and backed off now but his attitude was really starting to bug me.

"Well it's not anymore, I've decided I want to go back to separate rooms. Now please if you don't mind I actually have things that I need to take care of" my arm emphasised the exit again and he finally acknowledged it and took it.

"Promise me we'll talk later" he asked me as he made his way out through the door.

I didn't say anything and nodded in agreement, gently shutting the door behind him.

A sigh now escaped from my chest, it felt relieving that the most awkward, emotional bit was out of the way and that we just had to keep on talking about it, until we both were good again. I really do hope it's going to work out. It was going to be a while before that happened though, and I think we both knew that.

I swiveled back around and strolled towards my wardrobe, my massive wardrobe. I opened the doors and walked in. I was going to leave for the airport in two hours and I had not packed a thing. I guess I just presumed that Alice would've done it already for me, she usually did. Although she was probably being hounded on to keep a watch on the Volturi and didn't have the time. I walked over to the left side of my wardrobe which contained all of my winter clothes, I can still remember how cold Forks was, even though it wouldn't bother me, I had to keep up with the human charade but I didn't really mind. I then got the foot stool and jumped up on it, I had to reach the top shelf where my luggage bag was located. This annoyed me, I was a half-vampire who can run at incredible speeds and jump impossible heights yet I wasn't tall enough to reach a top shelf of my own wardrobe.

Once I had retrieved my bag from the top shelf, which had taken an eternity even with the assistance of the foot stool, I began to pack. However I didn't take much notice as to what I was

packing, I was just absent-mindedly grabbing random items of clothing and chucking them in the - what seemed - bottomless suitcase. I had my mind on other things, well just one thing in particular. What Jake had said just before he was all but pushed out of the room by me. Something about him being able to tell me something that would assure me of his love for me. Huh I wonder what it was, but I was almost positive that he would have a very hard time convincing me that, I was very skeptical of him now. I bet he would just ask Dad to tell me his thoughts and try and convince me that way. But that wouldn't work. Either Dad would say no find some other way or he would do it and exaggerate overly so that life could go on peacefully.

A fist pounded on my door and I prayed to God that it wasn't Jake, I didn't want another stand-off just before I left. The door hinges squeaked and I just waited to hear who was coming into my room.

"Renesmee? Are you in here?" to my relief it was the sound of my Mum's voice.

"Yep, in my wardrobe" I answered.

She poked her head around the corner and then came in. She looked at my bag and raised her eyebrows.

"Are you done yet, we have to go soon or we're going to miss our flight, it's been put ahead of schedule because there's a snowstorm coming in later tonight. Let's go" she explained.

"Yeah, I'm done. Where's Dad?" I asked her as I zipped the suitcase up and popped it up onto its wheels.

She took my hand and we walked downstairs together. "He's just finished packing the car, everyone's waiting out the front to say goodbye" she told me.

We were just about to walk out the front door when a noise came from behind us. We both turned to see Jake standing in the hallway, looking confused as ever. He was staring at my suitcase.

"I'll take this to the car, don't be too long remember" Mum said as she parted, she could tell that this was going to be awkward. I nodded and turned back to face Jake, it was evident now that no one had told him what was going on.

"Where are you going?" he asked me.

"Away, with Mum and Dad. I just need time to think things through and I think it will be done better if we're apart for a bit." I told him, the tears starting to resurface again.

"How long will you be gone for" he asked quickly, you could tell this is not what he had wanted to hear.

"I don't know, however long Mum has planned it for I guess. Look I need to go or we'll miss our plane"I explained.

I turned away without giving him a final glance, it appeared though that he had frozen. I walked down the front steps and hugged all my family, telling them all that I would miss them. Rose first and for the longest, then Esme, Jasper, Alice, Carlisle and finally Emmett. The tears were a menace and wouldn't stop rolling down my face, it was hurting me that I was leaving Jake but I had to do this to give us a better chance and I knew it. Esme hugged me again and asked why I was so upset. I hadn't wanted her to know the truth so I just told her that I was going to miss them all so much.

As I got in the car and Dad started to drive, I turned around to see Jake still just inside the front door. It was then that he had seemed to have awoken from his trance, the one that I had left him in over five minutes ago. We were almost about to turn the corner into the forest trail when his head snapped up and he began to bolt out the door and down the stairs and made his way for the car. His face distraught and longing. No anger anywhere. Before he could even get past the family, Emmett had already grabbed him and locked him in his unbreakable hold. Alice then went over to him and stroked his face, whispering something in his ear which apparently calmed him down automatically, although his tears were still prominent. I turned back around to face the front, I couldn't watch anymore. I stared through the forest not focussing on anything in particular, still shocked from the image in my head of Jake. The tears started flow more heavy now as I began to remember all the times that we had shared together. Could all those memories be ruined by one secret. Now the one thing I knew for sure was that only time would tell.

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	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry I know I left it as a cliffhanger but you've all been so good with the reviews within the first hour of posting that I got straight back to work to update for you as soon as I could. So, bottom line here is keep them coming, you don't know how good it feels to hear all your praise and comments as well as your criticism and suggestions, so if you do have a suggestion let me know, maybe I can work it into the story :D**

**Unsure about anything? Ask :) PM me, I'll always respond.**

**So anyways without further adieu here is the next installment of my story oh and remember REVIEWS, REVIEWS, REVIEWS!**

**Zoe :)**

Chapter 6

"The next flight to Seattle is now ready for boarding" the voice over the intercom announced.

"Finally" I all but shouted, I had been sitting on my suitcase for over 30 minutes and my butt was now numb.

Mum hushed me and pointed me towards the direction of our gate number. As we boarded the plane and got our seats I was out of it. Not really thinking so much about what was right in front of me, I tripped over someone's foot but luckily Dad caught me, just before I face planted onto the cabin floor. He stood me back on my feet.

"Next time can you focus on what's before you, and get your head out of the clouds" he whispered in a joking manner.

I shook his hands off my shoulders, even with his power he couldn't tell that I was most definitely not in the mood to joke around. Mum gave him a cautioning look and he stood down almost immediately. We eventually maneuvered our way to our seats and sat down, I got the window seat and sat next to Mum who was inevitably next to Dad. Great, the next two hours stuck next to my Mum, with no where to run, thank God there was the possibility of sleep, maybe I could trick her if her interrogations got too bad. She turned to angle her body away from Dad and closer to me. She was about to begin.

"Honey, I know it may not seem like the best thing now but you need to talk about it and get it all out. You'll feel much better afterwards" she told me.

I stared out the window as I answered her, "I don't see how I could feel any better or worse than I do right now".

She sighed, and I started to tear up again, "I know it seems like it's all coming down around you and that its never going to get better. It will, you just need to be strong. Please talk to me" she was begging me now.

"What about, what do you want to know?" I asked her, still staring out the window.

"Tell me what you talked about, how you're feeling. How I can help just please start talking to me" she enforced again.

"Well, we talked about us. He said he was sorry but how could I believe him? I told him that ... I didn't know what our future was" I finished, I couldn't go on the tears had taken over yet again.

Mum was in shock, I don't think she understood know how bad it was between him and me, she made me turn to look at her. She began searching my eyes for insight but found nothing.

"Do you think it's that bad Renesmee? Surely he couldn't have said anything worse. Are you sure you're not taking this a bit far?" she questioned my rationality.

"Mum he said he still loved you" I told her.

A very low snarl escaped from Dad 's lips although Mum was a bit different. Shock again. Scrambled all over her face, "what?" she whispered.

"That's what made me think Mum, how can I ever be sure that he isn't going to leave me? I don't want to get hurt, that's why I have to think about it" I replied.

"Just please promise me that you won't go deciding anything until you're absolutely positive that it's what you want. Don't waste what you have with him, I know it's special" she reasoned with me.

"I won't Mum, that's why I think I had to get away, maybe time apart will tell me what I need to know. I'm actually really tired, do you think I could sleep. Flying makes me nervous" I ended with a forced laugh.

She looked at me with worried eyes but accepted my dismissal of the subject and let me rest, she turned towards Dad. She was now most likely going to discuss it with him, after all this had affected the whole family.

Truth be told, I actually was tired and managed to sleep out the rest of the flight. I was pretty out of it too, I hadn't even noticed when my Dad pick me up out of my seat and carried me off the plane. I woke up in his arms, it appeared to be that we were in a parking lot.

"Hey sleepy head, you awake now?" he smiled in adoration at me.

I fluttered my eyelids trying to get them to open and focus, "yeah? why wouldn't I be?" I asked him in confusion.

We had finally gotten to a car that was apparently ours, expensive, who would've thought? He didn't answer me until he put me in the back seat.

"You screamed and then stood up halfway through the flight and muttered something about Jacob, we thought you'd woken up but you just sat back and snored a little while longer" he laughed to himself now as he watched my face turn from white to red in an instant.

"I never snore" I told him, embarrassed by what he'd just told me. I planned to let the whole Jake thing go, I didn't want to know what I had said.

He slid into the backseat with me, letting Mum do the driving. This trip was going to take forever with her driving. He let me lean on him, I was still so tired from the plane, jet lag maybe. I didn't want to sleep for the drive though, the dreams I were having were too vivid for my liking. They were just Jake and me fighting, physically and that's what had frightened me the most. Dad saw the replay of my nightmare in his head, he held me closer and started rubbing my arm, reassuring me that everything was going to be alright and I was happy that he was there. I eventually started crying, but we all knew that this was inevitable. I think my tears scared Dad and for what reason I had no idea.

He decided to answer me, "This kind of feels like déjà vu for me Renesmee".

I pushed back on his chest so that I could see his face, it looked upset. My face, however, was confused. "What do you mean Dad" I edged him.

Mum turned around and shot a glance right at Dad, but he ignored her and continued.

"Well let's just say that these aren't the first tears I've seen shed for Jacob Black. It hurts me to see you this way, the same way it did when your Mum was like this."

"When did Mum ever get upset over Jake, was it when he kissed her?" I asked Dad, I wanted to know.

"No, it was when I had to tell him that we could only ever be friends. It was seeing his face, his heart was broken. I thought I'd never see him happy ever again and it was all my doing. But then you came along and the story changed completely" Mum now told me. Probably deciding Dad wouldn't tell me right.

I groaned, annoyed "Does every conversation have to end with how me and Jake are meant to be together? What makes you all so sure that we are going to work this all out?".

"Well-" Dad began.

"Just save it Dad. Let's talk about something else please?" I told him and he surrendered.

"Well, we're going to see Charlie" he started.

My mood lightened at once, "Oh my god I know, I'm jumping out of my skin I'm so excited.

"It has been a while hasn't it" he said.

"Yeah, almost 6 years now wouldn't it be?" I counted back in my head, mathematics never was my strongest subject.

"I'm sorry we had to leave you know" he sighed, he was always apologising for this.

"Dad it's not your fault that we are what we are" I told him. I hated it when he was hard on himself.

"It is my fault you and your Mum are this way" he stated.

"But what if you hadn't, then I wouldn't even be here now and Mum would be dead. We're not sorry Dad so please don't you be" I explained to him.

He considered what I had said and seemed to accept it, "You're right, you two are my life now. I was stupid to think otherwise."

"Oh Dad you say that like I was miracle" he was always flattering me in various ways.

"Well you were, we never thought you were even possible. You are Bella's gift to me, I don't think I could ever return one of equal value" he was smiling now and Mum I'm sure would be rolling her eyes.

"Stop with all the sappy stuff please. Wait, what are you going to tell Grandpa. He hasn't seen us in 6 years" I was a bit frantic now, explanations were in order.

It was Mum who answered me now.

"It's ok, chill out a bit would you" she assured me.

"Well, what are you going to say? You're not going to tell him the truth are you?" I said hoping that the answer wouldn't be yes.

"No, heavens no. I'd never do that to Charlie. I already told him when he called last week" she explained.

"And" she was stalling, intentionally I wasn't sure.

She sighed and blurted out in a hurry "Ok, I told him that we can only come if he promises not to freak out. I reminded him that everything was need to know and he said not knowing was better. I also told him that I hadn't changed and neither had Edward. He went a little quiet after that but I hadn't finished yet. I told him you had changed a lot and looked a lot like a teenager now. He said he'd try and get his head around it before we came and promised not to freak out when he saw us. Oh and there's one more thing" she ended.

"What" I said sitting up straight, trying to see her face through the dark.

"Well, it's not going to be just Charlie there?" she admitted.

Dad now joined in, not being able to read Mum's mind, "Who else could there possibly be Bella?" he asked her.

"Well I have some good news about Charlie" she was stalling again.

"Just spit it out Mum" I told her, annoyed that she was beating around the bush.

"Come on Bella" Dad edged her.

"Ok ok ok but it's not that big, I don't know why you guys want to know that bad" she told us, probably so we would back off.

She started again instantly, I think she could feel the deathies she was getting from the back seat, "Charlie got re-married" she told us, you could hear the happiness in her voice.

"What?" Dad said, he was in disbelief although had a big smirk on his face.

"To who?" I asked her.

"Sweetie, you wouldn't know her. Don't worry you'll meet her soon enough" she assured me.

"Renesmee won't ... but I might" Dad told her, he knew that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Um ... ok ... do you remember Sue Clearwater?" she asked Dad, excluding me from the conversation.

"No" he said, disbelief across his face for a second time.

"Mmm hmm" Mum said smugly.

"But then that would mean" Dad implied.

"I know" she boasted with him.

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" I asked, annoyed with them for leaving me out.

"Sorry Renesmee it is sometimes easy to forget that you haven't been around for that long" Dad apologised.

"Yes, yes I know" I said shaking his apology off. "Tell me what you two are gossiping about?" I asked them.

"Well you won't really get it but ok" Mum said.

"So, Sue has two children which now I guess are you're aunty and uncle, kinda but please make sure with them that it's ok to call them that before you say anything. They both don't age either because there exactly like Jake so they are both around you're age physically I mean of course" she started to explain.

"You mean werewolves?" I clarified.

"Yeah, but Leah never really liked me because I was hurting Jake so much. This meeting should

be fun. Seth is so much fun though, they both protected us when the rest of their pack wanted to kill me." Mum continued.

"Why did they want to kill you Mum?" I asked her, this took me by surprise.

"Well not just me Ness, you too. This happened just before you were born though, nothing to worry about" Mum assured me.

"Mum, please don't start this crap again" I sighed, I was sick of this.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, watch your language please" Mum warned me, her voice hard and stern.

"Muuuum, I'm just tired of you trying to protect me, I'm old enough to know what went on when I was younger" I told her.

"Please, Dad will tell me" I turned to look at Dad.

"She is right you know Bella" Dad reasoned with her.

She didn't say anything and just sighed, that was her usual response when she knew she had been defeated. She didn't like it when we ganged up on her. It wasn't my fault that she was too overprotective though.

"Renesmee you have to understand that when we found out that we were expecting you, you were a first, and we didn't know how you were going to turn out. Werewolves have a disliking for vampires already so they thought they needed to take you out as well as Bella to protect the human population of Forks. Jacob was against it of course and came to protect us all from the pack" Dad explained.

I couldn't even speak, all I could do was nod.

"So, that's Leah and Seth for you. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, they won't take any aversion to you and if it seems like that way from Leah, it's probably for me don't worry" Mum ended with a nervous giggle.

I reached forward and put my hand on Mum's shoulder, "Stop stressing Mum, it will be cool. Don't worry."

She then lifted one of her hands from the steering wheel and placed it on top of my hand, "I hope you're right Renesmee" she sighed talking to herself.

"I know I am Mum, it's sweet" I assured her.

Me and Dad both exchanged confused looks. Mum was losing it. We were just going to see Grandpa and his family not going to a police station to confess a murder. It was then that I saw the car's headlights illuminate a highway sign. 3 miles to Forks. I started to jump in my seat we were almost home. Mum started to hyperventilate, I was now laughing at her. Dad tightly tapped me on the head, a warning to stop.

"Breathe Bella" Dad told her.

"Yep, I'm fine. It's no biggie" She told us.

"Mum it's Grandpa, you're aloud to get a bit excited" I laughed.

"I am, I'm just freaking out about his reaction that's all" she admitted to us,

"Bells, he told you he would be fine, you just have to trust him" Dad said.

I think I was going to be sick. Trust. This just made me think about Jake. His face when I left him, making me feel guilty. The three hour drive was finally coming to an end. I knew this as soon as we past the Forks welcome sign. I thought I was going to explode, we were so close to Grandpa. We would be re-united soon enough. We were almost near Mum's old street when Dad reacted, he stiffened and his eyes became staring, he was listening to someone I was almost sure of it.

"Stop the car Bella" he said.

"Edward we're almost there, you can tell me when we get there" Mum shushed him.

"Stop the car" he repeated.

"Edward, relax please-"

he didn't even let her finish, "Pull over now" he whispered through his teeth.

The way he said it kinda scared me. Mum felt it too as she pulled over into the shoulder of the road. She switched the ignition off and then turned to face Dad.

"What's wrong Edward" she asked him, concerned now.

"It's Charlie" he said.

I started to worry now, "What Dad, what's wrong with Grandpa?".

He came back to the present and saw my face, I was freaking out I was almost on the verge of tears.

"No, he's fine, don't worry. He just has a surprise waiting for us when we get there" he explained.

"What sort of surprise?" Mum asked, confused as ever.

"He's congregated all of our old high school friends together to welcome us back, and that is just a recipe for disaster" he told us both.

Me and Mum both relaxed we felt ok now that we knew that Grandpa was in no danger.

"What are we going to do then? We can't go now" Mum stated the obvious.

"Well, you're going to call Charlie and tell him our flight has been cancelled, we'll go over and surprise him tomorrow morning" Dad started.

Mum cut him off in a panic, "But where are we going to stay tonight?"

"We're going to go back to our old house, it'll still be there. The way we left it" Dad explained, a bit chuffed with himself for thinking of the idea.

"Ok, awwww this will be nice. It will just be like old times" I said, happy now too.

Mum now pulled back onto the road and went back towards the highway. Although I was super excited about going back to the old house, I was disappointed that I would not get to see Grandpa tonight. We now made the familiar turn off, and the car bumped along the rough terrain of the dirt track winding and twisting until it finally straightened out. We approached the old house in darkness, as there had been no occupants since we had left all those years ago.

Dad had to break the lock to get in but it was no trouble for him, I think he just broke the door down eventually, I was too tired to notice which way it went. I remembered falling and then two pairs of cool hands catching me before I hit the cold marble floor of the familiar hallways. Dad whipped me into his arms and Mum shadowed his movements up the stairs into his room. Mum pulled the covers back and then Dad settled me in, Mum doing to finishing touches of tucking me in, making me feel like a toddler again.

"Goodnight sweetie" Mum cooed over me. I think I was still conscious enough to hear that.

I couldn't even answer her. As soon as my head had hit the pillow my eyes had succumbed to my brain that was telling them to close. And I dreamt happy dreams that only contained Mum, Dad, me and Grandpa. A perfect family. Although one individual kept on rearing its head in from time to time. This did not bother me though, as tomorrow was sure to be one day full of happiness and excitement.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Ok, so I know the last one was kind of a let down but it's hard to write with writer's block as I'm sure is evident with that last chapter. I decided to make it up to you with this extra long chapter, so I hope you enjoy :)**

**Zoe**

Chapter 7

Unfortunately the dreams didn't stay happy. I was all alone, in the meadow. What was I doing here? It was all calm and peaceful, until a a midst of growls and snarls emerged. They were all I could hear at first but then I could see, although not very clearly. What I could hear though, spoke for itself, what sounded like claps of thunder every time the two figures joined together as well as all the growls and snarls. What looked like two bodies were moving too fast I could not make out what was happening. All of a sudden one of the bodies shifted into the form of a wolf. That had to be Jake, I was sure of it. I moved closer to the commotion, wanting to get a better look. The other figure was swiping at Jake and had gotten him on his back, it was now that my walk turned into a full-paced run, I needed to help Jake. I got there and ripped the other body off Jake, I turned to see his attacker, I was going to finish them off for him. It was then that I stopped dead in my tracks, the body that I had pulled off Jake had been my own. Shock still coursed through my body and before I had time to think, the body that was me, launched themselves at me, eyes only for my throat. I didn't have enough time to react, all I could do was scream, and that I did.

I woke up all hot and sweaty, my scream still in progress. Mum and Dad had rushed in at the sound of it.

"Renesmee, are you alright? What's wrong?" she asked me, a worried look painted across her face. Dad said nothing, he was watching my nightmare again, not bothering to tell my Mum.

I couldn't even answer her, I was panting heavily and now the tears had started to find their way to the surface of my face. Dad sat down and embraced me, rocking me back and forth comforting me from my latest nightmare ordeal. Mum seemed to relax on seeing this.

"It's ok, it was only a dream, you're ok" he told me, again and again until my tears seemed to have settled down.

Mum looked at me, still worried for my emotional state, "Come on sweetie, we are going to Charlie's soon, you need to lighten up"

I had completely forgotten about today's events, too soaked up in my daunting nightmare. A smile spread across my face. I was instantly beaming ear to ear. "Ok, just let me get dressed and then let's go" I ended with an eep.

My parents then left Dad's old room, giving me some privacy to dress and make myself look acceptable. After all I was going to be re-united with my Grandpa after not seeing him for 6 years straight, for once I was a bit sad that Aunt Alice wasn't here to help me choose a perfect outfit for the occasion. I settled on my jeans, boots, a plain top, I looked out the window it looked freezing it was snowing. I didn't think I'd packed anything for the weather, not anticipating that it would be this cold. I then wandered into my Mum's room to see if she had anything that I could wear when I stumbled upon my massive overcoat. A note attached to it.

"Renesmee, it's lucky that one of us can see the future. Take care and I'll see you when you get back. Alice" I read her note aloud to myself, smiling.

I then put my overcoat on and look at myself in the mirror, simple yet good enough for the time.

I owed Aunt Alice huge for the coat. I made my way downstairs to find my Mum and Dad at his old piano, and at once I recognised Mum's lullaby playing.

When Dad saw me though, his playing came to a halt, "Are you ready to go now Renesmee?" he asked me.

"Yes, let's go. I don't think I can wait anymore" I exclaimed.

"After you" Mum said, gesturing her hand towards the front door.

They both laughed at me as we made our way to the car. Dad took the driver's seat this time, Mum sat in the passengers and left me to rule the backseat by myself.

As we made the turn-off from our driveway to the highway, Mum brought up my dream.

"Did you want to talk about your dream, Ness?" she questioned me.

I laughed humourlessly, "Not really, or do I really not have a choice?" I scrutinized her.

She turned now to face me, "Sweetie, you know I'm just worried about you. I just want to know you're alright".

"Well, I'm dealing with it fine. Can you please not ruin today for me Mum?" I asked her sincerely.

"Ok, I'll butt out, just always know you can come and talk to me about anything" she assured me.

"Yes Mum, I know and I will be fine" I re-enforced.

We had now turned into Grandpa's street and I had to shove my fist into my mouth so that I wouldn't scream and deafen both of my parents.

"Come on Dad, can't you go any faster" I edged him, as he laughed at me.

"I'm already doing the speed limit" he answered me.

I couldn't help myself as we finally pulled into his driveway, it just escaped from me. As quickly as it had began it was silenced. By both my parents hands over my mouth.

"Shhh Renesmee, remember this is meant to be a surprise. You're acting like such a teenager" Mum hushed me.

"Ok, ok I've got a grip on it, now come on lets go" I ushered them.

We left the bags and luggage in the car and tip-toed softly up to the doorstep. With a light knock on the door we all stood back and braced ourselves.

We listened eagerly and heard Grandpa heave himself off the couch and mutter, "who could possibly be calling round this early in the morning".

I muffled a giggle as he opened the door. He stood there and looked up, I was positioned behind Mum and Dad so it would've been impossible to see me. I could see him though. He actually looked alright, I was worried that he would look heaps different and I wouldn't be able to recognise him but he hadn't changed a bit.

He stared at Mum as she smiled back at him. He rubbed his eyes quite a number of times, he was stunned and in disbelief. He then spoke.

"Bella?" he asked, "is that really you?" he laughed and dove on Mum for a hug.

"Oh my god Dad you don't know how good it is to see you" Mum exclaimed, she was overly happy.

He held her for a long time, "I'm so happy to see you, I've missed you so much".

Grandpa them grabbed Mum's arms and pulled her back to get a good look at her, it didn't seem to bother him one bit that she had remained unchanged for the past 6 years. Which was good for us as this had been our biggest concern. He then turned away from Mum and looked towards Dad. His reaction surprised us all.

"Edward, good to see you" he smiled, pretty chuffed as he reached for Dad's hand and shook it.

Dad, as polite as ever replied, "As it is to you Charlie, it has been a while I must say".

Normally Grandpa had a big aversion to Dad, after all it was he who had taken his daughter away from him. I'm sure there were other reasons too but of course my ears had not heard them as yet.

Grandpa's face changed and became expectant, "Well where is she? Where's my beautiful grand daughter?" he asked.

Mum and Dad both looked at each other, this was it. They both took a step sidewards to reveal me to my grandfather. His jaw dropped instantly and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

"Hey Grandpa" I shrieked.

"Look how big you've gotten" he exclaimed.

My face dropped, this is what I was worried about, my own grandfather thinking I was a freak of nature. He saw this and re-evaluated what he'd said.

"You've grown so beautifully, come over here and give your old Grandpa a hug" he said and held his arms wide open.

My face lightened up again as I jumped into his arms and hugged him for what seemed like forever.

He finally let me go and ushered us all inside the house, it was exactly like how I remembered which was a relief. He turned back around to face us as he spoke, "I'm so glad you kids are here, although it was a pity your flight was cancelled yesterday, I had a big surprise waiting for you and everything" he admitted to us, a bit down-hearted about his efforts going unnoticed.

I turned to look at Mum, I was giggling which probably would've given us away, lucky for us though that Grandpa wasn't that observant.

"Oh really, I'm sorry Dad, what did you have in stall for us anyway?" she asked him, trying to cover up my smirks I'm sure.

"All your old friends were here from high school ready to welcome you home but they all had to catch planes home back to their colleges and couldn't stay" he told us.

"Awwww that would've been nice Dad, oh well, it's the thought that counts" Mum comforted him.

They all made their way into the kitchen and decided to leave me waiting at the foot of the stairs. I stood there in silence for a moment, not sure what to do with myself when a massive body came flying down the stairs. I retreated back quickly, startled by the tall boy standing before me. It looked like my presence there had caused a similar reaction to him. He stared at me for a couple of seconds then dropped his jaw, his mouth hung wide open with shock. I stared back at him a bit frightened, he was physically so much bigger than me and height, to me, was very intimidating.

"Bella?" he asked, I assumed he was talking to me as there was no one else in our vicinity and he was still staring right at me.

"No, that's my Mum" I explained to him.

"Nessie?" he was smiling now, "I can't believe it's you?" he said, advancing to my position immediately, he held his arms outstretched.

"Yeah, I'm Renesmee, and you are?" I let my question hang and backed off from him, I was still a little uncomfortable.

"Sorry, I forgot that when we met you were only a couple of months old" he explained to me.

"Don't sweat it" I told him as I laughed nervously.

He stuck out his hand and said, "Hi I'm Seth. I guess I'm kinda you're uncle" he laughed. I'm sure the term sounded ridiculous to him as well seeing as he was literally my age.

I took his hand, "nice to meet you" I said to him and it really was, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He actually reminded me a lot of Jake.

At that moment Mum, Dad and Grandpa had all entered the room. As soon as Mum saw Seth her face lit up again.

"Seth" she screamed in excitement.

"Bella" he returned.

She ran over to him and he embraced her in a massive bear hug, it kinda reminded me of Uncle Emmett.

"I mistook Renesmee for you Bella, I still can't get over how much she looks like you" Seth flustered.

Mum laughed "Well, there's a bit of Edward in there too" she said as she stroked my cheek affectionately.

This seemed to have struck a chord with Seth, he let her go and looked around the room, when he had found what he had been searching for he yelled.

"Edward" Seth exclaimed.

Dad then went in for his hug and this confused me, didn't werewolves not like vampires. Obviously there was a friendship here.

"Sue, Leah get down here, you'll never guess whose here" Grandpa yelled up the stairs.

Leah and her mother came down the stairs together, warily looking at the occupants of their house.

Leah smiled when she saw us standing there, an expression I wasn't anticipating. "Edward, Bella it's so nice to see you again".

She then went over and gave each of them a quick hug. By the looks on both of their faces they were as surprised as I was.

She then turned to look at me, "this couldn't be Renesmee could it?" she asked everyone.

I took the liberty of answering her, "the one and only" I smiled at her.

"Hey, I'm Leah" she said as she hugged me now too.

The other thing I wasn't expecting was for her to look so old, I mean not old old but Leah looked as if she was in her late teens or even early twenties. Hadn't Mum told me that she was like Jake and couldn't age?

"Leah, you look so ... grown up" Mum told her now, she was thinking exactly the same thing I was.

"Umm, yeah ... thanks?" she asked, not knowing how to answer Mum's unspoken question with Grandpa around.

After all the reunions had taken place and I had been introduced to the family I never knew that I'd had, things became more mellow almost instantly. Everyone felt comfortable and at ease once more. Grandpa then looked at Mum, Dad and me in a confused manner. We all started to freak out, oh no, what had we done?

"Where's your stuff? Or didn't you bring any?" he stared at us perplexed.

Sighs of relief escaped from all three of us when we realised that we hadn't brought in any of our luggage.

"No Dad, it's in the car" Mum laughed.

Grandpa turned to Seth, "Would you go and help them bring it in?" he asked him.

"No seriously don't worry we'll manage. Anyway I don't think you'd want to come and see how much stuff we have. Alice packed for Bella and me." Dad explained, a smile curving on the edge of his lips.

They all laughed in harmony because we all knew how Aunt Alice was when it came to clothes.

Grandpa shifted his weight under his feet and looked up to meet Mum in the eyes, he could tell that they were different but this wasn't what had him looking so embarrassed.

"Now Bells, you know how happy I am to have you back in the house but you know how small this place is so I made a couple of arrangements to where everyone will be sleeping" he began, he sounded so formal.

"You know Dad, we don't want you to be put out here, we can always go and stay at Edward's old house it's no trouble at all" Mum insisted.

"No, Bella" he said authoritatively. He sighed and regained himself after his short outburst. "I mean I just got you back again. It's fine and we do have the space. We added another room so everything will be alright" he added.

"Only if you're absolutely sure Dad" she replied.

"I am, trust me. Now, Bells, you and Edward are going to sleep in Leah's room, that's your old room. It might be a tight squeeze for the kids though, you're all getting piled into Seth's room for the time being" he explained.

"No come on Charlie, Seth's room is disgusting. I'd rather sleep on the lounge" Leah stated.

"Well maybe that would be better for everyone then" Seth exclaimed as Leah then punched him in the arm. Ouch that looked like it hurt!

"Stop it you two, I swear to god sometimes you act like 7 year olds" Grandpa said as he rolled his eyes. He then glanced down at his watch.

"Whoa, is that the time? I'm sorry guys I've got to get to work" he said as he rushed out the door in a fluster. He was in the threshold of the door and suddenly turned around to Mum.

"It's so good to have you back Bells" he said smiling as he walked out the door to his car and went off to the station.

Sue then turned back around and went upstairs probably going back to whatever she was doing before we had arrived, and it was most likely to be sleeping. As soon as she was gone the atmosphere in the room seemed to be relaxed and chilled as Mum now turned to Leah and endeavored her question from earlier.

"Leah, you stopped phasing?" Mum asked surprisingly.

"Yeah I did" Leah stated, she looked so happy at this simple fact.

"When? And more importantly why?" Mum continued.

"Um like a few years ago and I don't know if it's so much as a why, more of a who maybe" she let out, she was so excited about telling Mum and by the look on Mum's face she was just the same about hearing it.

"Who? Oh my god are you serious? Tell me now. Details. Stat." Mum said as she gestured to the couch.

"Well, his name is Kyle and he's gorgeous" she started as they both strolled willingly together to the couch and sat down with their heads together, Mum listening intently on Leah's new love life.

I knew that conversation wasn't going to lead anywhere interesting for me so I turned around to the listen in on the conversation going on between Dad and Seth.

"So how are the packs going now that Jacob is gone?" Dad questioned Seth and almost instantly I wished I hadn't turned around. Hearing his name brought back the trauma of the last time I had parted from him.

"Well, it's kinda settled down for now, no one else is making the change anymore but I guess that's because you're gone. We don't get any vampires anymore, just the occasional nomadic one now and then but nothing too hardcore" he answered.

I walked a few feet closer, "hey, what you guys talking about?" I asked them both, eyeing them to see if they were both prepared to lie to me, although I hoped that Dad hadn't briefed Seth on the current Jake crisis, I couldn't go there.

"No Renesmee I haven't but you're going to eventually have to say something" Dad answered my thought.

Seth stared at me with an utterly confused look on his face, "What on earth is he going on about?" he whispered to me.

Dad cleared his voice, "You know I can still hear you" he smirked.

Seth and I laughed together dismissing Dad's statement completely, soon enough he joined us too.

"So what are you getting up to today Seth?" Dad asked him, changing the subject.

"Um, well before you came I was going to go and visit Sam and Emily down at La Push but I can always do that later, I guess I'll hang out with Nessie today we have a lot to catch up on" he smiled at the last bit and I knew what he was getting at. Great!

"No don't worry about me I'll find something else to do, really go and visit whoever it was you were going to see" I told him as I blushed, for a half-vampire I had an incredibly bad memory, it was embarrassing.

He considered my proposition for a bit then came up with a compromise, " How about you come along with me?" he asked.

"Ok, sure why not, that's alright isn't it Dad. I can go can't I?" I turned back around to Dad look at him with pleading eyes, this was exactly the kind of distraction I needed.

"No, you can't go" he said to me his face hard and unreadable.

"What?" I yelled, Mum and Leah turned around to see what was going on. I didn't know why I had yelled, I guess I was just used to everyone saying yes to me. I always knew they would make me the most spoilt half human-vampire ever. Jake was the worst by far.

"Why not?" Seth asked more calmly than I had.

"Surely Seth you would be able to understand more than anyone, it's not that I won't let her go it's physically because she can't go. The treaty remember?" Dad said.

"Oh right I guess I forgot about that, but is it still valid?" he asked Dad.

"Yes it is in place for eternity that's the agreement we made and we chose to stick by it" Dad explained.

I had already tuned out while they were talking about this "treaty" I had no idea what they were going on about and for once I didn't really care about what they were talking about. I had gotten used to the feeling of not knowing and I had a hunch that it was going to link back to Jake somehow, it always did.

"But she's not venomous and she is the object of Jake's imprint they can't hurt her even if they wanted to" Mum said. How did I know he was going to come up? Although this imprint thing had me confused yet again.

"That is a valid point, she isn't venomous so she could possibly hurt anyone" Dad commented.

"How about I just give Sam a call and see what he thinks?" Seth stated.

"That would make everything a lot easier" Leah said.

Seth pulled his cell phone from his pocket and walked out the back door, not wanting us all to hear the conversation.

"Mum, why do you want me to go so bad. I don't mind one way or the other" I asked her analytically.

"Sweetie, it's just you never get to meet anyone new and Sam and Emily are really nice people. I think it would be good for you to get up your social skills and I hear it's not just Sam and Emily anymore" she smiled back at Leah.

Seth walked back in with a defeated look on his face, "Leah that was meant to be a surprise, you ruined it." he snipped at his sister.

"Bella asked how they were going and I couldn't not tell her about Liam he's so adorable I couldn't keep it in" she admitted in a hurry.

"Yeah, he's got us all wrapped around his little fingers already" Seth laughed.

"Um, like backspace a couple of times and then freeze. Now can someone explain a bit" I said, not getting any of this.

"Ha ha sorry Ness. Well Sam and Emily got married about what a year ago?" he asked Leah and she nodded in approval of his statement. "Sam stopped phasing a bit before that too. Anyway a couple of weeks ago they had little Liam and the whole tribe is hooked on him. I think Leah drags Kyle down there every chance she gets. Poor guy, he thinks she's getting ideas" he laughed.

"Well it's hard not to he's a gorgeous little baby and he's so small too. And no I'm not getting any ideas Seth, he just proposed to me we're not even thinking about that yet" Leah expressed in a matter-of-fact way.

My eyes zoomed in to the massive rock that was indeed a ring on Leah's finger. "It's so pretty, I'm so happy for you" I said giving her a hug, she felt more like my sister then my aunt and I had taken an instant liking to her.

"Thanks so much Ness, I'm actually surprised that I don't see one on your finger. Jake's been with you for ages now" she grinned cheekily at me.

I winced and shied away from her, the thought of Jake brought back the unwanted memories of my dreams and just him in general which was enough to set the tears in motion as they started to stream down my face. I turned into Dad so that no one would see but they did, all of them. He hugged me tight and held me close.

"Nice work Leah" Dad growled at her.

"I'm so sorry Ness" Leah said apologetically, you could tell she felt horrible about the whole situation and I felt bad that she felt that way. It wasn't her fault.

"No it's ok, you didn't know" Mum assured her.

I turned back around to face her, "I'm ok, I guess I just wasn't expecting it. Please don't feel bad it's not your fault" I told her.

"Still, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, I'm really sorry" she said approaching me with her arms open.

I shrugged out of Dad's hold on me and went to accept her apology with a hug. "Don't worry about it, I'm actually being really stupid" I smiled and laughed a little bit as I wiped the tears off my face.

"Well before I forget, Ness, Sam said it was cool for you to come along with me. After I explained that you weren't venomous he came around. Although he said Bella and Edward can't come as the treaty is still in place, I'm sorry guys" Seth said with sincerity.

Mum strolled over towards Dad now and wrapped her arms around him tight, "No that's ok we understand. Just please try and persuade them to come up for a visit, I think I would die if I didn't see Liam" Mum said.

"Ok I'll do my best Bella. Come on Nessie let's go. I made Sam promise that he wouldn't tell anyone so it'll be a huge surprise when we get there" he smiled at Mum and then turned towards me.

We walked out of the house and made our descent down the porch steps to Dad's car, when we suddenly turned towards a ... I guess you could call it a truck?

Seth saw me staring at it and laughed, "Sorry, I know it's not what you're used to but it was all I could afford. We're not all lucky enough to have an aunt who can predict the stock market" he laughed once more as we climbed into the truck.

"No, it's just so different" I explained. When her put the key in the ignition and turned it, the truck roared to life making me jump a bit, Seth enjoyed that a lot.

"So how's life up in Alaska?" he began trying to make small talk. The drive would only take 20 or so minutes he had told me.

"Um it's very quiet, I mean we go to school but that's really not interesting because we're all outcasts there and we already know what we're supposed to be learning. Life's pretty boring up there and I miss Grandpa so much. I really wish we could've stayed here" I answered him, with a sigh at the end, I really did wish that we didn't leave.

"So how is everyone anyway? Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Rose?" he asked me intently. Leaving one name out on purpose I'm sure. After seeing what the mention of his name had done to me, he probably couldn't imagine what I would do if I were to actually talk about him.

"There all good, Carlisle's working 14 hour shifts at the hospital, so I hardly see him because I'm sleeping half the time but there's always weekends. Esme generally just chills at home, but goes out now and then to work on a house for Rose and Emmett nearby. Alice is ... well ... Alice, she goes shopping all the time and drags Jasper along with her to carry all her bags. It's quite funny actually to see them when they come home. Although my laughter stops when she tells me over half the contents of the bags are for me alone but other than that everyone's doing fine" I explained to him, recapping on my family for him and I used the term everyone very loosely.

He laughed when he heard this, "I do remember, Alice always was the one for over-indulging when it came to clothes" he said as he kept his eyes on the road.

"So how's Jake going?" he said slowly, taking in my reaction with every word he made, especially when he mentioned the name.

"He's alright" I said bluntly, trying not to make it obvious that I was completely uncomfortable with the current choice of topic for conversation.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked me seriously now.

"Nope" I said again bluntly, slightly annoyed now that he kept on bringing this up.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he pushed again.

I had to calm myself down so that I didn't lash out at him, I guess he was only trying to help me.

"No Seth, I don't" I whispered softly to him.

"Will you ever?" he pressed.

"I don't know" I hissed at him, getting more irritated by the second.

"Ok fair enough but I do want to know what's going on eventually and if you won't tell me I'll go and ask Edward or Bella" he warned me.

"OK, fine, I get it. Now can we please talk about something else before I rip your head off, I really don't want to do that to you" I said with a laugh now.

"Oh so now the half-vampire thinks she can take on the big bad wolf does she?" he said mockingly.

"Bring it on I say" I eyed him.

"Try me" he laughed.

"Just set a date, and I'm so there" I said to him looking confident.

The car then jostled to halt outside the front of a tiny little cottage, it was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. We both got out of the truck and slammed the doors hard, it seemed to be the case now that we were making a competition out of everything. This was going to get interesting but it was all in good fun and was a really good distraction.

"We'll have to talk some other time about that, come let's go" he smiled at me and the gestured me towards the stone path.

I suddenly felt very nervous about meeting Sam and Emily because if he had been a wolf too, there was no predicting how tall he could be. Mum said they were nice people though so I should just stop freaking out and go with the flow for once.

Seth didn't even bother knocking on the door and just went straight away to the handle, turning it so that we had access to the inside of this cosy little home.

"Sam, Emily I'm here. You'll never guess who I've brought with me" he yelled throughout the tiny house.

Just then a large man looking so similar to both Seth and ... Jake emerged from one of the tiny rooms off the long hallway. This must have been Sam. He smiled when he saw Seth and me standing there at the foot of their home.

"I bet I could guess" he smiled as he greeted both me and Seth at the door.

"Renesmee? I can't believe that's you" he said warmly towards me and leaned down for a hug, I almost felt tempted to ask how the weather was up there, but that would've been just stupid.

"Hey, it's nice to meet you. You have such a cute home" I said to him as I smiled.

"Thanks, it's nice to see you again after all these years" he replied.

Just then a women appeared in the hallway too, she looked absolutely beautiful with her skin and her hair, I wonder how she'd look if she became a vampire. She might give Aunt Rose a run for her money. As she got closer I noticed the massive scar the covered her face but somehow did not in the slightest way detract from her beauty, she was gorgeous. She stared at me like everyone else had done today and then began to smile.

"Bella?" she said as she then ran from her position in the hall to me. She didn't even give me time to speak before she had jumped on me in an embrace.

She finally let me go and I ceased the opportunity to clarify who I was, "Um no sorry to get you all excited but I'm not Bella, that's my Mum. My name is Renesmee" I said and stuck out my hand in a friendly manner.

She blushed and turned into Sam a bit embarrassed that she had just hugged a total stranger, "Renesmee of course, I'm so sorry. My goodness you look so much like your mother" she said as she took my hand and shook it.

Seth then came forward and lightly slapped her on the back, "Don't worry Emily, you're not the first person to have mistaken her for Bella. I did exactly the same thing this morning" he chuckled.

"Well I guess that does make me feel a little bit better. Please come in and sit down, can I get you anything to eat or drink" she asked as she guided us towards the couch.

I sat down and answered her, "No thank you".

"Umm, whatever you have cooking smells good" Seth said as he inhaled deeply to catch the scent of the meal that was cooking in the kitchen.

Just then a high-pitched, ringing wail came from the hallway and echoed through into the lounge room, startling both me and Seth. Sam and Emily both laughed at us and exchanged looks between them.

Emily finally got up, "I'll get him, you stay here" she smiled as she lightly kissed Sam's cheek whilst she was in the process of exiting the room. Sam watched her walk out and into the hallway, staring at her affectionately. It was sweet, they reminded me of my parents a little.

He turned back to us, "and here I thought he was going to sleep for a couple of hours and give us some rest" he laughed sarcastically.

Emily came back into the room holding a very small little bundle wrapped in a baby blue blanket. I couldn't help but smile as I watched the way that she looked at him as she entered the room once again and took a seat in a rocking chair by the window sill. She started to rock the little baby and almost instantly he soothed and his cry became non-existent. This made me feel like I wasn't important and it was wrong for me to be here but I couldn't help but watch, it brought a warm feeling inside to see them there.

Sam then got up and wandered over to the chair standing over them in a protective stance, he just stood there and watched them both for a while before he spoke, "I've got to go and talk to Billy about something. It might take a while. Will you be alright here?" he leaned down to ask her.

She looked up at him, "Yeah, we'll be fine. We've got Seth and Renesmee here with us too. Don't worry too much while you're gone please" she smiled and touched his face, pulling it towards her so that she could give him a small but intimate kiss. And with that Sam had gone without even saying good bye to me. Just then the phone began to ring and the baby once more became unsettled. Emily got up in a rush and wandered over to where Seth and I were sitting, she looked at me deeply.

"Could you please hold him while I get that" she asked me pleadingly.

At once I went into freak out mode, when she didn't wait for my response and placed the crying baby into my awkward arms. She quickly raced out of the room to answer the phone and then began a conversation with whomever it was. I looked down at the baby as he continued to wail.

I then looked up at Seth, "Please take him" I asked him frantically, I had no experience with babies and I wasn't confident at all with holding one.

He just looked at me and laughed, "Oh no you don't. Stop trying to off-load a screaming baby to me. You're the girl, you must have some maternal instincts" he reasoned with me.

"You said you liked him, that he had you wrapped around his finger. He obviously likes you better. This is the first baby I've ever been in contact with, I don't think I have any maternal instincts I'm a half vampire!" I argued with him.

Poor baby Liam was still crying while Seth and I argued over who was the better suited person to comfort him.

"Just do something Ness" he pleaded with me, wanting the crying to stop as much as I did.

I gave up and rolled my eyes at him, I then stood up and walked towards the window with Liam tucked firmly in my arms. I had no idea what to do, so I decided to rock back and forth on the spot, rolling my weight back over my legs. This didn't seem to help at all.

"Renesmee, I would preferably like to hear by the end of the day" Seth joked towards me.

"I'm trying, believe me I'm trying" I said, so flustered by the screaming baby that was in my arms.

I continued to rock back and forth as I then started to hush Liam, his cry started to deteriorate, this must be working. I smiled over at Seth and he returned a grin encouraging me to keep on doing what I was doing. I kept on hushing him and his cry soon settled down until it stopped altogether. I exhaled heavily in relief that this poor child was no longer crying. I walked back over towards Seth and resumed my spot next to him with Liam still there in my arms.

Seth smiled at me, "You did good Nessie, much better than I would've done" he laughed.

"Thanks, and thanks for being so willing to help" I smiled as I said it sarcastically to him.

"Well you obviously didn't need it, look at him now" he retorted back at him.

I glanced down and stared at the baby's face in my arms. His little mouth stretched open to form a big "O" right before he turned into my arm and snuggled deep into it. His eyelids fluttered to a close and his breathing settled down into a soft, slow rhythmic beat. I then began to admire Liam's little features, his hair was as black as night and really thick. His skin was a smooth russet colour, exactly like Seth's and Jake's. Everything about him was perfect, I could see how Leah had felt the urge to come down here all the time, he was adorable. At this time Emily came back into the room.

"Thank you so much Renesmee for that" she smiled at me appreciatively.

"Please call me Nessie, and it was no problem" I assured her and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Did you want to take him?" I asked her as I got ready to hand him back.

"No it's ok, he looks just so peaceful there, I wouldn't want to disrupt him" she looked over towards her son now, sleeping in my arms.

"Are you sure? I don't mind at all" I asked.

"Absolutely, you're a natural, he loves you. Look at him smiling while he sleeps" she pointed out and I looked down to see the little smile plastered on Liam's round face.

I stroked his cheek lightly, not wanting to disturb his sleep. I looked up at Emily and smiled at her, "He's gorgeous" I said to her.

"Thanks so much, he is isn't he" she agreed with me.

All of a sudden the phone rang again, Emily reluctantly heaved herself off the lounge and went into the kitchen to answer it. I had a bit of a heart falter when I heard it, just hoping that it wouldn't wake Liam up. But he did. Although it wasn't as bad as I'd expected, his eyelids began to flutter open as he stirred a little by the sound of the phone, he then tried to snuggle deeper into my arm I guess so that he could get away from the noise, after the phone had been answered by Emily he then almost instantly fell back into the same rhythmic beat of breathing as he drifted off to sleep again.

Emily came back into the room a short second after with a torn look on her face, this immediately had me worried.

"Sorry guys, I have to go to Billy's and help Sam out" she apologised to us.

"No don't worry about it" I said.

Seth reacted protectively, "What's wrong? Is everything ok?" he asked quickly.

"Yeah, everything is fine, it's just getting a bit out of hand down there" she answered him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he questioned her.

"No, no it'll be fine, Sam's already there" she assured him.

I walked over to Emily with Liam, I was careful not to move a lot when I got up so that I didn't disrupt his quiet slumber. I handed him back to Emily very carefully when he started to stir again.

Emily smiled, "he doesn't want you to let him go" she then laughed as he began to settle again.

"I'm sorry I had to cut your visit short" she said solemnly.

"No, don't worry about it, it was nice to meet you and Liam" I said to her as Seth pushed me out the door. Emily had grabbed a bag and then joined us on the pathway, going to her car. I watched her strap Liam into his car seat before a thought occurred to me.

"Oh I almost forgot, Emily, Mum said she thinks she would die if she didn't get to see Liam for herself. She was wondering if it wasn't too much to ask that you came for a visit up to Grandpa's house" I asked on behalf of Mum.

She turned around at me and smiled, "Of course we will, I haven't seen your mother in years. It will be so nice to see her again" she said sincerely.

"Well we'll be in touch then. Take care" I parted with as Seth helped me into his truck.

I turned around and waved to Emily as the truck took off slowly down to the end of the street. When I could no longer see her I turned around and settled myself back into my seat. We then made our way back home to my waiting family, my Mum would be heavily anticipating my arrival ready to interrogate me about every single detail of Sam and Emily's new baby. I leant back in my seat and closed my eyes, enjoying the different environment that I was in, happy to be away from the problematic chaos that was my life back home.

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	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Seth's truck rolled to a jerky stop outside the front of Grandpa's house. It was nightfall and it had turned out that Seth had kept me out all day, what with all his detours. After we left Sam and Emily's house, Seth took me down to First Beach and decided sporadically that he was going to take me for a surf even though it was very close to sub-zero temperatures in the water. While we were in the water I had seen some people diving off the cliff face, it looked like fun so I had asked Seth if I could try. He laughed at shook his head saying to me, "do you know how much your Mum would kill me if I let you do that."

After we had finished our surf he then took me to his mates house, Quil, he was there with Claire who was 3 years younger than what I was, physically anyway, although they weren't related they looked like brother and sister. It actually reminded me exactly of what my fellowship with Jake had been before I had become old enough to fall for him. Wait, don't remind me. We hung out there for most of the afternoon just chatting about nothing in particular until Seth decided that he should take me home.

We weren't in the door even one second before Mum jumped on me, "Hey sweetie, how was it? You must've had fun, you were gone all day" she said to me a smile edging on her from ear to ear.

"Yes, Seth took me everywhere, even when I begged him not to" I smiled, rolling my eyes a little.

"How was he, Liam I mean, did they say they were going to come up?" the longing was there in her eyes I could see it, everyone could.

"Yeah, he was so cute Mum, I wish you could have been there" I said with a lot more truth behind it then what was immediately portrayed. If Mum had been there she could've held the screaming baby for me.

Dad laughed as he saw what I was thinking, or maybe it was Seth I couldn't be sure. He was holding his sides while he kept on laughing, apparently my experience with Liam was the funniest thing he'd heard for a while.

"Oh Renesmee, I wish I could've been there" he managed to get out in between gasps of laughter.

"What happened? What's so funny?" Mum asked, feeling a bit upset that she was out of loop on what was going on.

Seth interjected this time, "Ness had to deal with a screaming baby" he laughed with Dad now too. I blushed a deep, deep red as everyone around me was in hysterics. I shot a murderous glance at Seth, so he added to what he had said just before, "and she did a pretty good job if I do say so myself".

"Yeah, nice save" I said sarcastically.

Mum saw how everyone was making me feel and decided to change the mood of the moment, she approached my position near the couch now and rested her hands either side of my on my shoulders.

"I'm sure you did fine" she smiled at me, a question was behind her compliment, I could tell, she always said something like this when she wanted me to show it to her.

"Ok but only if you promise that you won't laugh" I made her promise even before I held my hand out to her.

"Sweetie, I promise I won't laugh, honest" she said solemnly towards me.

I sighed and nodded at the same time, I trusted her, she was about one of the only ones left who had it.

I reached for her hand and she immediately took it, eager to see what Liam had looked like. I started to remember the events that had taken place this afternoon. The phone call, my face when Emily had given the baby to me, Seth and I arguing over who was better to soothe him, Liam crying still while we were fighting, my attempts at settling him, and then when he finally settled. I then extended Mum's viewing, I decided to let the memory roll out and show her I wasn't a complete dud when it came to child care. I then remembered sitting back down and holding him there, Seth's praise, then watching Liam, the little baby, fall asleep in my arms, snuggling deep into my arm and when he got upset when I gave him back to Emily. I let go of Mum's hand and looked up at her face to see what she had thought of Liam, after all she had been dying to see what he had looked like.

It was now that Mum's face startled me, her face looked sadden, even heart-broken. She started to cry tearless sobs and as soon as she realised this, she got up, "Sorry ... I have to get away from here" she said to me as she pushed passed everyone and made her way upstairs. Even Dad, who had been standing at the foot of the staircase with his arms held open ready for her to run into them, was pushed aside by her.

His face looked confused as ever, he began to turn to make his way after her when I stopped him, "No Dad wait, can I go and see what's the matter" I asked him sincerely.

"Renesmee, I think it would be better if I did" he answered honestly.

"No Dad" I emphasised with more power in my voice, "I'll go, who knows maybe it's a girl thing? I just feel responsible that's all, it would make me feel better if I knew what was going on" I told him, hoping that he would see my logic.

He pondered this for a moment before he moved aside on the stairs to let me pass, "Ok but if it gets too much, please come and get me" he pleaded with me.

As I walked passed him I put my hand on his shoulder, "of course Dad" I assured him. You could feel the stress and nervous energy coming from him.

I walked up the stairs and entered Mum's room slowly, judging and reading every move I made, I'm sure Dad would be listening and watching through my thoughts and I had just hoped that Mum would put her shield up for a little bit so that we could talk privately. I opened the door to find Mum with her back to me, she was sitting on the bed with her head down. This wasn't a good start.

I peeped my head around the edge of the door and watched her carefully, "Hey, Mum? Can I come in?" I asked, my voice very high-pitched, this always happened when I got nervous.

She kept on staring at the bed when she answered me, "Of course you can" she told me as if I had just asked her the stupidest question.

I walked in and made my way around the bed so that when I sat down, I would be facing her. I took a seat on the big bed and noted to myself that I had been incorrect about my previous assumption that she was staring at nothing. It was evident, now that I was facing her, that she had in fact been looking at a photo album.

I pointed at the album, "What are you looking at?" I asked trying to make small talk, not knowing where to start.

She looked up at me for the first time and she was actually smiling but you could tell that there was pain behind it, "Just photos of you" she whispered as she turned the next page.

I then turned my head on an angle so that I could see the photos and indeed they were me, but way before I can remember though. There were ones of me with Dad, Mum and Aunt Rose was in there too.

"But why are you looking at these Mum?" I asked her.

"I like to look at them when I get upset" she mumbled as she admitted it to me.

I looked at her blankly, a confused expression plastered across my face, "I don't understand you Mum" I said.

"Just when you were showing me Liam, all these memories came back of you. It got me thinking of how much time Emily and Sam will have to watch him grow up and be normal. I never got that with you, the first time I met you you looked as if you were months old rather than days. You were growing up way too fast and it was happening all right in front of me. I'm sorry you didn't get much of a childhood, I partly feel responsible for it" she said as her tearless sobs started to breakout again.

"Oh Mum" I said as I pulled her in for a hug, "It doesn't matter to me, I'm here now and it'll be like this forever. Carlisle was wrong about the time, I still have a year and a bit of growing left. None of this could be your fault, you're silly sometimes you know that" I said as I now pulled her back and smiled at her.

"I know sometimes I go on just a bit, but it's only because I love you so much, I really do. You're my whole world and more, my little miracle" she gloated towards me.

"Now whose being silly?" I rolled back.

"I'm sorry I got so sensitive before, I thought I was all over that. It wasn't fair for you to see that, it won't happen again" she promised me.

"Come on I can smell dinner cooking, Sue's going to come up any minute now and tell us it's ready. What do you plan to do?" I asked, worried how she was going to keep up the human pretenses.

"I'll just excuse myself along with Edward, say something like we already got a bite to eat, you need to stop stressing, it's not good for you're skin" she joked.

"Ok easier said than done, but I'll work on it, come on let's go then" I encouraged her and she took my hand as we walked out of the room together.

Dinner seemed to go on forever, despite the fact that I wasn't even eating to begin with. I mostly just shoved the food around on my plate, I could eat it but I had always preferred blood, I don't even know why. The past few weeks however I have been either too stressed, tired or upset to hunt and so consequently I had to make do with human food. Although Mum had said that she would excuse her and Dad from dinner, they sat down with us pushing their food around too. Grandpa joined us once he had returned from work, telling us about his very ordinary day down at the station and how he had wished that he could've spent it with us.

The whole family eventually drifted into the living room and plonked themselves down on the various couches. I was eventually worn out by Grandpa's interrogations of what's been happening in the "world of Renesmee" as he called it, and decided that I was tired enough that I could give bed a shot. Although I felt a bit reluctant to go, the last couple of times that I had drifted off to sleep, I had been confronted with graphic nightmares, curtsy of my subconscious. I hugged and kissed my whole family goodnight, Seth promising he'd try not to wake me up when he came in. I trotted up the stairs and into the first bedroom on my left. I tucked myself into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin, succumbing to my heavy eyelids...

There was Jake, standing in the middle of a field, he had his back to me. I strolled over to him and touched his arm so that he would turn around to face me. As soon as he did I appraised the look he had on his face. He was smiling, but there was a pain behind it, that part was evident. My brow furrowed as I returned a confused look towards him, "What's wrong Jake" I asked him intently.

He looked down and stared past his feet, "Renesmee, I need to talk to you about something serious" he began with.

"What is it?" I asked worried, I then pulled his chin from the floor and angled it towards my face so that I could look him in the eye, " you're scaring me" I said frightened.

He stared into my eyes for a long time before he resumed speaking again, "Ness, I've found someone else. She makes me more happier than I've ever been and, well, we were never going to work out anyway. It's over. I'm saying goodbye" he told me reluctantly as he then began to walk away from me. Forever.

He didn't even give me a second look and then he was gone. My knees gave way, and buckled from underneath me. Shock coursed through my body as I tried to comprehend what he had just told me. The tears rolled down my face instantly, I was crying so bad I couldn't see clearly as I got back up to chase after him. I stumbled around the clearing looking for any signs of him, screaming his name and then waiting anxiously for a response. Nothing.

I then collapsed to the ground again for the second time, the tears still flowing prominently from my depressed eyes. I curled up in a ball and refused to go anywhere or be anywhere without him, he had been my whole world and now he was gone. Indefinitely. The unbearable sadness within me, was trying to break out and I had to fight hard to keep it contained as it so desperately wanted to run its course and be done with. I tried to close my eyes to see if this would help slow the flood of tears that were streaming down my cheeks. All of a sudden a pair of ice cold hands gripped me firmly around my shoulders, and startled me. I turned around to be faced with one pair of deep red, blood-thirsty eyes.

I gasped loudly as I sat bolt-upright immediately, I then screamed intently, remembering the nightmare that I had just endured. This by far had been the worst one yet. I realised Seth in the bed opposite to me and struggled to muffle my frantic scream. I managed to suppress the scream almost instantly but I knew that I didn't have a chance of fighting back the tears. I wrapped my arms around my knees and tried to bury my head as far as it would go into them. Big, heavy sobs found there way up and an unfamiliar ripping sound started to emerge from my chest.

At that moment, I saw movement next to me out of the corner of my eye. Seth sluggishly rolled over and then opened his eyes to a slit, squinting through the darkness to try and see me. I quickly laid back down, pulling the covers over me to make it seem like I was asleep. Seth reached for the lamp next to his bed and slowly flicked the switch to illuminate the entire room. He sat up for a moment and rubbed his eyes groggily and turned to face me, I rolled over at this instant, hoping that he hadn't seen me looking at him with my tear-filled eyes and would lay back down and fall asleep, thinking that he was hearing things.

"Ness?" he whispered through the dark.

I lay completely still and faced the wall that my bed was pushed up against. I was still crying hopelessly and it was when Seth had finally given up, and laid back down reaching for the light to turn it off, that another rough sob broke its way free out of me.

He sat back up again instantly and I knew I hadn't fooled him this time.

"Renesmee?" he whispered again, "I know you're awake, I can hear you" he chuckled softly to himself.

I slowly sat up but refused to look at him, I stared at the wall with my arms still wrapped tightly around my knees, almost like I was trying to keep myself from falling apart. It sure felt like it at this moment in time.

"Are you alright?" he asked me seriously now as he appraised my position on the bed.

I looked up at him with my tear-stained face and stared deep into his eyes. His big, black onyx eyes. The same eyes. The eyes I had just looked into within my most recent nightmare, the eyes that had told me I was no longer the one, the eyes that had parted with me forever.

This sent me into a world of hysterics as I turned my head away from his eyes and directed them into my knees. The sadness that I had tried to hold in, - when I had just woken up from my all too real dream - overpowered me and took control of my entire body. My eyes were so wet with moisture I was unable to see, my body shaking uncontrollably, my chest heaving up and down, trying to let myself breathe but alas the sadness would not have any of it.

Seth stared at me in confusion for the slightest second before he had all but jumped out of his bed and ran to my side instantly.

He put his hands upon mine and tried to break my hold around my knees but I resisted. He tried

again and what with his werewolf strength and me in little control of my own body he unlocked my fierce grip.

He then pulled at my shoulders and sat me up straight, making me look him in the eyes, "What's wrong Renesmee?" he asked me worriedly now.

I tried to answer him but every time I opened my mouth, heavy sobs oozed from my lungs making it that much more difficult to breathe. Seth could see that I was unable of answering so he decided to guess.

"Did you have a bad dream? Nightmare?" he began to ask me, he'd gotten it on the first go. Well, part of it anyway.

I nodded sheepishly, and him bringing up the thought of Jake again brought on another round of hysterics. Seth pulled me under his arm and hugged me closely as he now sat right in the corner of the wall.

"Hey, don't get upset, it was only a dream. It wasn't real. You're safe now" he assured me over and over again.

I concentrated on steadying my breathing and lowering my heart rate so that I could communicate with him.

I looked up into his eyes and fought back the tears that had overcome me last time I had done so, "It's not just that" I managed to get out after several attempts.

"What is it then, come on Ness, you know you can talk to me about anything" he solemnly said to me.

I childishly looked away from his gaze, "I wouldn't know where to start, there's so much. It's just a complete mess" I admitted.

"Well how about you start with your dream and work you're way back from there" he suggested to me.

"It was about Jake" I began.

He sighed and immediately understood at why I had gotten so upset.

"I had been wondering about that, so how about you level with me now. What's going on with you and Jake" he asked me seriously.

"It just all happened so suddenly. I didn't see any of it coming at all" I began again.

"What happened?" he encouraged me.

"I found out something about Jake, something that he had lied to me about. I got really upset. We started to talk again but the way he talked about it told me that he still felt the same about the situation now as he did back when it happened" I whimpered to him, trying to hold myself together so I could talk to Seth about it.

"What did he lie to you about?" he asked intently. Judging my reaction carefully before pressing me for more information.

"Well, it all happened back when my Mum and Dad were still dating and living down here in Forks. Jake had been making things difficult for my Mum and one day he kissed her, telling her that he was in love with her" my voice wavered on the last bit, remembering the pain of the memory of that eventful day when all had been revealed.

Seth's reaction however didn't even seemed shocked, he answered simply with, "Oh, yeah I remember that" he murmured.

A wave of rage coursed through my body, "You knew too? Oh my god, did anyone else not know besides me or was the whole flipping world in on it too" I raved, the tears in my eyes now predominantly anger induced.

"Renesmee it's not like that, see, we used to be part of the same pack. When we are in our wolf form nothing and I mean nothing is kept a secret from the others. He couldn't help it" Seth reasoned with me, calming me down instantly.

"It still doesn't escape the fact that he knowingly lied to me the whole time" I retorted back quickly at him.

"No, I know it doesn't but maybe he didn't want to upset you. Don't you think, being his true love he would've been able to anticipate your reaction and see how much it would've hurt you. Did it ever cross your mind that all he might have been doing is protecting you?" he asked me, seeing if his logic would work.

"But how can I be sure that I am the one who he truly wants to be with, how do I not know that he still has feelings for my Mum. She was the one he fell for, I can't compete with that" I whimpered, as I started to shake again.

Seth pulled me in closer and I actually felt comfortable enough with him that I leant willingly into him, seeking his comfort and reassurance.

He laughed into my hair, "Well come on Ness, we both know that even your Mum can't compete with imprinting. Surely that has to convince you of his love" he stated to me.

I pushed off his chest and looked up at his face, staring at him with a very perplexed looked painted across my face.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, I was very confused at this point although I do remember the word "imprint" - whatever that means – came up in a conversation Mum and Dad were having a while back now.

Seth laughed and shook the whole bed underneath us, "Very funny Renesmee" he chuckled.

This had me even more confused now, if that were even possible to begin with.

"Seth I have no idea what you're talking about" I told him frustratedly.

He immediately stopped laughing and gave me, what only could be, a similar expression to what my face had looked like just moments ago. Utterly confused.

"You mean he's never told you" he whispered softly.

Anger again instantly waved through my body, "What? You mean he's been keeping something else from me too?" I growled, not at Seth ,but just in general frustration.

But Seth was in another world, thinking intently.

I snapped my fingers in front of his face, trying to bring him back to the present time and situation at hand. He blinked and refocused his attention back to our little room.

"Sorry" he mumbled.

"Seth, I have a right to know. Tell me now" I calmly told him, but making sure the authority in my voice was there.

"I don't know if I should, Jake should be the one to tell you" he told me.

"Seth, he might never tell me, I'm not even sure we have a future together right now to be completely honest with you. Please tell me" I pleaded with him now.

His face looked somewhat pained, "Is it really that bad?" he asked.

"Honestly I think it is, we've never fought over anything before" I admitted to him.

"Well I guess he can get angry at me later then" Seth managed a smile.

I laughed nervously, apprehending what he was about to tell me, "Please go on" I prompted him eagerly.

"I guess I'm going to have to start right at the beginning then with the basics. By the end though, you should be able to see why I'm so sure you and Jake are meant to be. So me and Jake are Quileutes which means we are also wolves. When we became wolves we were notified of a legend that might happen to us. It's called imprinting" he began.

"Yeah, but what has any of that got to do with me and Jake" I asked him.

He smiled at me, "Impatient aren't we? I'm getting to that" he laughed.

"So imprinting is when a wolf finds his soul mate, the one he's meant to spend the rest of his life with. Look at Sam he imprinted on Emily and they're both as happy as ever." he reasoned with me.

"So Jake imprinted on me? I still don't understand, how that makes him and I inseparable though" I asked him dubiously.

"Yeah he did. Hmm, let me see if I can explain it a little better. It's like an involuntary thing, we can't control it and we don't know who, when or even if it's ever going to happen. But when you see her, they say that you feel a pull towards her like your instead of gravity holding you down its her keeping you on there on that spot. It's like a binding, Jake's bound to you forever, its physically impossible for him to stop loving you. Why did you think he had been in your life, when you were little" he asked me curiously.

I had to think about this one for a little bit. I was in shock. Jake couldn't stop loving me, we've been bound together for eternity. Why hadn't he told me this, maybe he had been trying to.

"Umm, Mum always told me it was because she didn't want to leave him behind here, that he was still her best friend and a big part of her life. I never knew how big of a part of _my_ life that he was, why didn't he tell me this though? He could've saved himself a lot of arguments" I questioned Seth.

"He didn't want you to feel obligated to do anything that you didn't want to do. He wanted you to make your own choice about it, without feeling pressured by the whole imprinting thing. See Ness, he really does love you. He only wants the best for you, he's only ever wanted you to be safe and happy" Seth smirked at the end, obviously feeling very pleased with himself about his explanation.

"Oh no, what have I done" I could feel the tears starting to resurface as I realised all the unnecessary upset and turmoil that I had put us both through. The tears although strong were no where near as bad as the ones I had shed in the past few days. I was almost relieved that I had gotten some clarity and insight on what me and Jake really were.

Seth hugged me closer to him and rubbed my arm reassuringly, "it's ok, you didn't know" he soothed me.

"I still shouldn't have said all those things to Jake. What must he think of me?" I whimpered as I suddenly realised that I didn't deserve Jake, he was way to good for me and I had taken him for granted. My eyelids fought hard to stay open as I yawned heavily, I let them drop and tried my hardest to keep on listening to Seth.

"It's ok, believe me. Can you imagine how happy you're going to make him when you get home and you're all good again" Seth slurred the last few syllables of his sentence. The early hours of the morning were really affecting us both. Although, I didn't really hear him very much, my eyelids had won and they were shut tight as I happily drifted back off to sleep, confident that I would not be having anymore nightmares, well, at least to do with Jake.

"Renesmee? Seth?" the calling of my name brought me into a state of consciousness as I happily remembered my dream from last night. The footsteps, gradually got louder until they stopped at the doorway.

"What on earth is going on in here?" someone yelled at the top of their lungs, it took me a moment to decipher that it was Grandpa's voice.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen" he shouted, absolutely infuriated.

My eyes reluctantly fluttered open and I immediately came face to face with my Grandpa's beet-root red face. He was staring right at me, I could see a vein bulging from his forehead. His eyes then began to move and I followed them down. I then noticed that another set of arms were around me. I took in my whole position now as I realised both me and Seth were in the exact same stance as we had been last night. Still sitting on my bed with our backs pressed up against the wall, me under Seth's arm and angled into his body slightly, Seth's arms wrapped around me from when he had been trying to soothe my tears from last night. I also noted how this would look to an outside party, not knowing what we had been talking about last night.

I quickly pushed myself out of Seth's arms and that in turn woke him up. He kept his eyes closed but arched his back and groaned, "Renesmee, I can't believe you're up already, especially considering how long we were up till last night".

Oh my god, I can't believe he had just said that. I looked at Grandpa now, afraid that he was going to have a cardiac arrest right there and then. It sure looked close.

Seth noticed my lack of an answer and opened his eyes to look at me, he followed my gaze to the doorway and saw Grandpa standing there. Seth went white and still beside me, realising what he had just said and the interpretation that Grandpa would've made. Speaking of Grandpa, he didn't look too well.

"Mum" I yelled out in panic and she was there at the doorway instantly.

Her eyes were only for Grandpa as she entered the room.

"What's wrong dad?" she asked anxiously, searching his eyes for a cause.

He couldn't even speak all he did was point to me and Seth, still on the bed. Mum gasped and then eyed both Seth and I down.

"You two have a lot of explaining to do" she said hardly.

Oh no, this was going to take a lot of explaining, I just hoped Dad would turn up soon and assure Mum that we weren't doing what they all seemed to think we were. And here I was thinking that things had calmed down. I should've known better.

**Liked that end bit??? Hopefully because thats the closest I'm going to get to lemons, I'm sorry to disappoint some people but I'm only 14 and thats just a tad weird.**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW please**

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	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I couldnt keep you in suspense anymore, it was a bit mean to do it in the first place :D**

**Either way its here now so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**

Chapter 9

Mum had taken Grandpa downstairs and gotten him a glass of water and made him sit down, he was so pale. She left me and Seth alone in his room once again, but she was bound to return sometime soon, wanting to know exactly what we had gotten up to last night.

Once I had taken some time to gather my thoughts, I then turned to Seth and slapped his arm, "Why would you have said that?" I yelled at him angrily.

"Ow" he muttered, his face then turned all innocent as he began to reply to my accusation, "I didn't know Charlie was standing right there, anyway, what I said was completely honest" he smirked at the end.

"Would you stop laughing this isn't funny" I raised my voice, but then couldn't help laughing with him. It was pretty absurd what they were all thinking.

"I hate to say it Ness but I think it's pretty hilarious" Seth joked.

I hit him in the arm again, "Did you see the way Grandpa was looking at us, I don't think I'll ever be able to look him in the face again" I blushed deeply.

"Well, I don't think he'll be able to look at you the same way either" Seth laughed.

"I'm glad you think this is one big joke" I rolled my eyes at him, annoyed that he was not taking the situation seriously at all.

Seth saw how tense and agitated I was and changed his direction with our argument, apologising immediately, "I'm sorry, What do you think they thought we were doing anyway?" Seth laughed again.

"Well, what Grandpa saw was pretty bad, then you had to go and say that, which in turn made it much worse. So I'd say that we're in deep trouble" I replied, too stressed out to have any emotion behind the words. He put his arm around me and hugged me, sensing that this might be what I needed to calm down and it actually did work, marginally.

I than began to ponder as to what exactly they all thought we had gotten up to last night, and then quickly wished I hadn't for two reasons. The first, it was completely disgusting and I would never think of Seth in that sort of a way ever. And second, Mum and Dad had entered the room at that time.

Dad's eyes locked in one Seth's arm around my shoulder and spat very clearly through his clenched teeth, "Get your arm off my daughter", Seth didn't even argue and quickly pulled his arm back to his side as he smiled apologetically towards me.

Dad's face looked concentrative and then shocked as he went through my thought processes from earlier, "Bella, please put your shield up now" he begged her and you could tell as soon as she had. His face relaxed instantly but then became hard and angry.

"What in the world were you two doing last night?" he raged.

"No Dad, it's not like that I swear, please let me explain" I said reaching my hand out to him so that I could show him what happened.

Dad looked at it and stepped back, "Renesmee, I saw what you were thinking when we came in, I don't think I could handle another viewing of that" he explained.

Oh no, he'd seen my imagination, not my thoughts. I had just made an even stickier situation for Seth and me.

"No Dad, it's really not what you think, please let me show you what actually happened last night" I asked him, reaching my hand out again.

Dad stayed firmly in his place not moving an inch.

"Come on Dad do you honestly think I would do _that _with Seth, he was just being an incredible friend last night that's all, please let me show you" I reasoned with him, my voice strained from all the stress as I re-emphasised my hand towards him.

Seeing that I was making absolutely no progress with my Dad I decided to give up on him and tried for Mum. I turned towards her and outstretched my hands in her direction hoping she'd take them. She stood there looking at me for quite a while before she decided, against Dad's will, to take them.

I then showed her what had actually happened last night starting with my horrible nightmare. I then progressed to how I had been when I woke up with my horrible break down and showed her that Seth was only comforting me and how well he actually did. I then showed her Seth's explanation of imprinting and rested on that.

She then opened her eyes and nodded, "Edward, nothing happened last night. Well, at least not anything close to what we had feared, you saw it yourself through her thoughts. How can we not believe her" she told Dad and he breathed a sigh.

Both Seth and me exhaled deeply too and the Seth jokingly wiped the sweat from his brow and laughed. We all laughed with him, knowing now the only problem was confronting my Grandpa, a conversation that I would happily pass on to my Mum or Dad. I kept on thinking deeply as to what I had showed my Mum and then rested on one image that really stood out to me. Seth telling me about the imprint.

"Why didn't you tell me about Jake?" I asked them both.

Seth could see where this conversation was headed so he politely excused himself from the bedroom and left us alone to discuss.

"What about him?" Mum asked after he had gone, she was so confused.

"The same reason he didn't tell you, we didn't want you to have to choose. We wanted you to figure things out for yourself and be sure that it was what you wanted" Dad explained, understanding to what I was referring to.

"You know he really does care about you, more than you could ever imagine" Mum caught on quickly.

"I need to get back to him to tell him I'm sorry and that I didn't mean to say all that stuff but I can't just leave so soon, I just got back home" I said in a fluster, torn between my two most upmost desires. Giving up I hung my head in my arms.

I almost didn't see Mum and Dad exchange a quick glance at each other.

"What is it?" I asked anxiously

"We actually needed to talk to you about that sweetie" Mum began and she walked over and sat down on the bed next to me, taking my hands in hers. I flinched a little at the coolness of her skin, being so used to having Seth right next to me.

"What's going on" I suddenly felt panic disrupt my high as I went into freak-out mode once again.

"Stop stressing Renesmee, everything is fine" Dad assured me, taking in my mood.

"Don't say that, you always say that and then something big happens. Please tell me what's going on" I panted, as my breathing began increasing by the second.

"We do plan on telling you but you seriously need to calm down first" Mum said, somewhat shocked at how worked up I was getting.

I concentrated on slowing both my heart rate and breathing and managed to get it at a pace where both my parents were satisfied to continue.

"Now will you tell me" I whispered, scared of what they were going to reveal to me.

"We need to go home today sweetie, our flight leaves at 6 and we need to be there at 4 so we'll be leaving shortly after lunch time. Your Mum already packed your bags back up last night" Dad explained in a rush.

"What why?" I asked, I didn't know whether to be upset that I would be leaving Grandpa after only 3 days of getting to know him again or happy that I was going to get to see Jake again and smooth things over.

"Now don't freak out" Mum began but I cut her off before she could say anything more.

"Mum just to let you know, when a person says don't freak out it tends to make the other person freak out even more" I said to her as my breathing started to escalate again.

"Alice called and said we needed to come back, she saw ... the Volturi. There visit is closer than expected" Dad explained in a hurry, trying to get the worst of it over.

"What? When? How long do we have together?" I asked frantically, fighting back tears.

Mum turned to Dad, "I knew we shouldn't have told her yet, why did you persuade me into it, look at her now" she scolded.

I looked up, "No Mum I'm fine really, I'm glad you told me. It's important to me that you were honest" I smiled trying to make a positive out of this already horrible situation.

"Sweetie, there coming in little over a month now. They found Zafrina, Kate and Benjamin quicker than they had expected" Mum told me.

"So we really have to go?" I asked sadly. My face torn yet again.

"I'm afraid we do Renesmee, so make the most of today. Charlie's at work though so we're going to wait until he comes back but then we're leaving. We should get home before night time" Dad told me.

"Have you told Grandpa yet?" I questioned Mum, knowing that this news would be heart-breaking for him. He'd just gotten us back and now we had to leave. Again.

"Yeah, I did. He took it ok although he is upset, he's coming home early just to see us off" she replied cheerily.

"You know, I wish we didn't have to go Mum, but I actually really want to see Jake again. I need things to be right again between us. It feels stupid to have wasted all this time angry at him, when we don't have much time left anyway" I stopped suddenly, remembering that I had little over a month to live.

Changing the subject quickly, "Where were you two last night anyway? I thought you would've come running in at the sound of my scream" I asked intently, I really wanted to know what _they _had gotten up to last night.

"We're sorry we missed that and couldn't be there for you, we went to our meadow, we'll have to come back and show it to you sometime, it's magical" Mum beamed and then turned and walked back over to Dad and kissed him.

I cleared my throat, "You know I'm still in the room" I groaned at them.

Dad chuckled at my look of disgust and pulled Mum back, still holding her tightly around her waist.

Just then Seth walked through to bedroom door, his face looked sadden and I realised that he must've overheard the planning of our departure from Forks.

"I only just got to know you again" he grumbled sitting back down next to me, he sniffed trying to hold back his tears and keep hold of his man hood.

Mum and Dad saw our little intense moment and decided to leave us alone to have a proper good bye to each other.

I laughed, "We'll see each other again Seth, maybe next time you can come up to our house in Alaska" I let my offer sink in and he seemed to appreciate it.

He brightened up immediately, "Just don't take so long this time please" he laughed.

"So what did you want to do on my last day here?" I asked him.

He thought about it for a while and then his smile got even wider as my eyes squinted, immediately trying to decipher what he was so smug about.

"What? Stop grinning like that you're making me nervous" I groaned at him.

"Well I was thinking about a little bet you made me with yesterday, so, are you up for a rumble with the big bad wolf?" he smirked.

Oh no, I had completely forgotten about that and partially hoped that he would have forgotten about it too. I swallowed heavily and he saw me.

"You're too chicken are you?" he said taunting me.

I eyed him down before getting up off the bed, "Ok that's it, let's go right now, down to the forest" I mused at him.

He got up very willingly and followed me out of the bedroom and down the stairs. We were almost out the front door when Mum and Dad stopped me.

"And where do you think you're going?" Dad asked speculatively

"Me and Seth are just going to settle a little bet in the forest" I smiled menacingly.

"Absolutely not" Dad said sternly, reading my mind and understanding why I was so happy and smug.

"What? Why not? We won't go anywhere near the treaty line" I argued, unhappy that he was constricting and not trusting me. Again.

"Renesmee, this doesn't have anything to do with me or your Mum not trusting you" Dad answered my unspoken thought.

"Sweetie, it's just that, we're not always the most dangerous thing out there that's all. Plus, I'm really not keen on you out there without me or your Dad either. Not with the Volturi's arrival so close" Mum added, catching on very quickly to what Dad had been talking about.

Seth's head snapped up sharply, his face filled with concern, " the Volturi? I thought you guys said that you wouldn't have any more trouble from them" he asked, recalling a conversation he must've had with them.

"No Seth, nothing's going on. Don't worry everything is fine" Mum assured Seth quickly.

I stared at her angrily, how could she blatantly lie to Seth and tell him everything is fine when in just little under a month we are not going to be around anymore. We were going to die and she didn't even have the dignity to tell him what was actually happening. Someone needed to tell him the truth.

"No Renesmee" Dad said firmly, placing his hands around my shoulders, restraining me.

I shrugged him off instantly, really starting to get enraged by all the lies and deception going on here, "No Dad, let go of me" I snapped at him.

I then turned to my Mum and had my way with her, "How can you lie to him like that? He's not one of the people on the outside, he is your friend and you should care enough about him to be honest. You tell him the truth or I will".

"What's the truth? Bella, what's going?" Seth turned to Mum, with a very perplexed look on his face.

I then moved over and stood next to Seth and gave my Mum a very icy glare, "Yeah Mum, what's going on?" I asked her.

She returned an equally disturbing glare towards me, then began looking quite uncomfortable as Seth's expecting eyes began to look at her waiting for the explanation. Dad walked over to her side and wrapped both his arms around her waist, trying to support her. He then looked at me, he was disappointed, I had certainly seen this look before but it had never been gestured towards me. It almost made me feel bad that I had put Mum in that position but never the less, Seth had the right to know.

She sighed with defeat, "Ok, I didn't want to tell you because I don't want you to get involved. Before I tell you, you have to swear to me that under any circumstances you will not get yourself into any this. Ok?" she beckoned.

"Bella, you know I can't do that, my fate is whatever yours is. Tell me what's going on" Seth prompted Mum.

"Seth I can't let you do this to yourself, I can't feel responsible for that I just can't" she murmured as she shied away from us and into Dad's chest.

"Renesmee?" he then turned to me, waiting for me to fulfill the promise I had made early with my mother that if she didn't tell Seth then I would. However, now that Mum had outlined why she had been so reluctant to tell Seth the truth, I understood why and now found myself wanting to protect Seth from the wrath that was the Volturi.

"Seth, my Mum is right. You can't get involved in this, it's too dangerous" I answered his look, I just couldn't let him do this.

"I don't need to be protected, I'm not a child I can handle what's going on. In fact, I know what's going on, the Volturi are coming again aren't they?" he made the assumption and then turned to Mum for confirmation.

"Yes, Seth there coming for Renesmee and there is nothing we can do about it" Mum weeped as the tearless sobs started to break out from her chest.

"What do you mean there's nothing we can do? We'll just do what we did last time" Seth suggested feebly.

Mum was beyond words, she couldn't even keep herself up straight without the help of Dad.

"We can't our friends defected over to their side, we have no one to stand with us. Although I don't think that having them there would do much anyway, the Volturi aren't looking for excuses they're looking for revenge" Dad answered, as his voice started to waver now too.

"I don't care if there's no hope, I'm not going down without a fight and you can't stop me doing that" Seth said determined.

"Timeout everyone" I yelled, cutting Dad off as he began to reply to Seth.

I firstly turned to Seth, "Would you stop being so ludicrous, you're not coming up and confronting the Volturi, I won't let you and Jake certainly won't let you. So that's the end of that discussion and don't try to argue with it".

I then moved onto my Mum taking a much lighter tone than I had with Seth, "Secondly, Mum stop being upset. Somehow, through all of this, I know we're going to be fine. So let's stop with the whole depressing mood and let me and Seth go out to settle our bet" my voice raised at the end turning my assurance into a question.

She sighed, "You're right sweetie, things will work out, eventually. Hmmm, ok you and Seth can go but one sign of trouble and it's back here. Do you understand?" She clarified.

"Yes, yes, yes. See you" I said as I turned and pushed Seth out of the door and down the stairs.

We both ran as fast as we could through the short clearing before the thick, dark forest confronted us head on. We turned to look at each other, he smiled cheekily while I swallowed heavily.

"I'll be back in just a second" Seth yelled as he already began to submerged into the darkness of the forest.

I waited for a while, listening quietly to the rustle of leaves and twigs deep into the forest when all of a sudden a giant, russet-coloured wolf emerged from the tree line. It staggered forward steadily and came to a halt right in front of me. I craned my neck to its full extension and stared imperiously up at the large animal standing in front of me. I gulped again as I saw the sheer size and brute strength that he had to have within him.

Seth saw my uneasiness towards him and started to cough, it seemed like he was laughing but I couldn't be entirely sure, I wasn't really familiar with the origins of wolf body language. He then began to stare at me, squinting his eyes ever so slightly, questioning my enthusiasm for our little arrangement. I sighed and walked back into the vast, empty clearing, pacing my steps very accurately away from Seth. He leant into a hunting stance and I comprehended that as meaning that he was all ready to go.

I steadied myself on the ground before me and shut my eyes, focusing on trying to remember how to breath in and out.

"Ok, on the count of 3, ready?" I asked him, and he barked in agreement, he looked like he was about to jump out of his skin in anticipation.

"One ... Two ..." I began as I stood on my toes, ready for a quick getaway if need be.

"Three" I yelled and then braced myself for impact.

All of a sudden Seth was bounding towards me at full face, his tongue hanging all the way out of his large mouth. Panting heavily as he jumped over the scattered boulders and leaves in his pathway to me. I bent my knees to a right angle awaiting his approach, planning to act defensively and play to my only advantage of speed. He was about one jump away from me now when he lurched towards me unexpectedly. I jumped and watched his head arch us and he followed my body all the way back down to the ground, positioning himself underneath me so that I would land on his back.

Oh no, this wasn't good. Once he had secured me onto his back he then began to buck and jerk like a bull. I began to laugh hysterically as I held on for dear life, I don't know what in particular but I just found something comical about a girl like me riding on a giant wolf's back as it tried to throw me from it. He now began to shake violently from side to side, desperately trying to throw me from his back, I knotted my fingers tighter into his fur while my legs slipped off his back and began to dangle lifelessly to and fro from the shaking. I was half screaming and half laughing as I began to slip further down his back, and closer to his hind legs where no doubt there was a forceful kick in the gut awaiting for me. I heaved a sigh and lunged myself forward and grasping a thick tuft of fur in between his shoulder blades and pulled myself up onto his back. Straight away I regained control of the situation and was once again, top dog, figuratively speaking of course. With a quick flip underneath to his legs that he wouldn't have been able to see coming I had tripped him and he had faltered and skidded to a complete halt on the soft, grassy clearing floor. Before he could even think about flipping back over and trying to restart our little rumble I pinned him down by sitting on his back and lying forward and putting my teeth to his throat.

"Looks like the little half-vampire whooped the big bad wolf's butt" I teased at his ear.

He growled angrily and then began abruptly shaking underneath me, then POOF all of a sudden I was free falling for about half a second before I hit a hard human body with an oomph. I begin laughing into his shoulder blades until I noticed that the body I was lying on was completely bare. I think he realised at the same time I did because in less than a second he had disappeared, back into the forest I presumed, to where he had left his clothes. I could understand where he was coming from though, I don't know how many pairs of clothes Jake went through in a month but it was always good having Alice around, she replaced them more often than he destroyed them.

After a couple of minutes Seth returned – in his human form and fully clothed I might add – panting slightly as he approached me. His face looked apologetic and somewhat annoyed.

"You know that I wasn't going serious, if I was I could've totally creamed you" He said, brushing his beating off.

"Yeah right, I owned you bad, see I'll prove it again" but even before I had finished my sentence I was already in mid-air making my way over to tackle him to the floor. He didn't see it coming at all and fell willingly to the ground with me. We landed with an audible thud, we looked at each other and then both bursted out into laughter. We both knew how ridiculous the whole rumble had been. I rolled off his chest and back onto the grass of the clearing, staring up absent mindedly at the clouds.

"So have you imprinted yet?" I asked spontaneously, but it was actually a question that I had been wondering about since he had told me about it.

He rolled onto his side so that he was facing me and then cocked his head on an angle, "Random question much?" he laughed.

"Sorry if it's too personal you don't have to answer, I was just curious" I mumbled, now embarrassed for asking.

"No, no it's nothing too personal, don't worry about it. Ummm, no I haven't imprinted, I hope to some day though" he re-assured me, smiling.

All of a sudden my mother's voice sounded from just outside the house, "Renesmee, come in now, we have to go" she yelled unnecessarily at me.

Seth didn't even wait for me to suggest our early departure from the clearing and had already jumped up off the floor and was now offering me his hand to help myself up. I graciously took it and wandered ever so slowly back towards to house. When we eventually got back to the house, everyone was already there waiting for me, of course, to send our whole family off back to Alaska. The good-byes were horrible, I couldn't stop crying while Grandpa, Sue and Leah hugged me, it was awful know that this was the last time that I would ever see them. Mum and Dad were already in the car having already received there hugs and good-byes and were now waiting for me to finish off so that we could get back home.

I saved Seth for last as I finally pulled in for what might just be my final hug, "Thank you so much. For everything. If it weren't for you I don't know where me and Jake would be. You've been a wonderful uncle and an even greater friend. I'll miss you so much" I whispered in his ear while we were still in out embrace.

"Don't mention it but this won't be our last time seeing each other. I will be in touch, you can count on that" he whispered even more softly so that Leah, Grandpa and Sue would not hear.

I didn't bother arguing with him, it would ruin our moment and I was not having any of that. As we both pulled away he lingered against my cheek before giving me a swift kiss on the cheek, making me blush.

"Are you ready sweetheart?" Mum asked me, hanging out of the car door.

"Yeah, I'm good" I said as I used the back of my hand to wipe the endless flow of tears from my face. I dawdled over to the car and placed one foot in, I then turned back around to look at the other side of my family that I had only just become close to. I smiled adoringly at them and in return they blew kisses and words of love and support. I then continued getting into the car and settled myself down for the long car ride, planning to try and sleep out both the car and the plane. As Dad pulled out of the driveway I turned in my seat to stare out the window, back at my family now waving with heavy arms, I knelt up on the seat and started to wave back with one hand the other I was using to control the amount of tears drenching my face.

I kept on waving and crying long after I couldn't see them anymore, when I finally turned around and put my arm down I noticed my parents exchange a very worried glance between each other.

"I'm really never going to see them again" I whimpered as Mum whipped into the back seat instantly, trying to console me.

"No sweetie, we don't know that, we don't know anything at this stage" she started, attempting to assure me of something that even she could not be certain of. She then took my head in her hands and forced me to look deep into her eyes, " you seriously need to stop stressing and worrying over this. We can't control it, so we shouldn't freak out over things we can't change. We just have to focus on the things we have power over. All of us do, we just need to make every little thing that we do count and try to make this the best couple of weeks possible" she emphasised the all bit very clearly.

"It's hard not to Mum, I know you all think about it too. I'm not an idiot, I am some what intellectually inclined I do know what you guys do while I sleep at night" I argued.

"Well, I promise to try with you then?" she asked me, deciding not to even try to convince me that she had done anything else besides worry for the past months.

"Ok, deal" I agreed with her.

She smiled adoringly at me and then proceeded to wipe all the tears from my face sighing, "You really need to stop crying all the time, otherwise you won't have any left soon" she joked.

"Ha ha very funny Mum" I rolled my eyes at her. This was something Emmett would've done, ruined a wonderful moment with a stupid comment like that.

She hushed me and then spoke, "Try and get some rest sweetheart, we have a long journey ahead of us. I think it would be best if you weren't so tired and emotional when we got home. Especially seeing as we have bigger things to worry about".

"Because that's going to send me off to sleep for certain" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry, just think about something else, something that makes you happy and you'll fall asleep soon enough. You know, you're lucky you have those couple of hours of escape. I wish I had them" she sighed but then turned more happy when she heard Dad's painful moan.

I nodded and shut my eyes, knowing exactly what I would think about to make certain that my dreams would only be of happiness. One word. One syllable. Jake.

I abruptly became aware of my surroundings once more, I was being jostled slightly. I groggily opened my eyes and came face to face with my Mum only a couple of inches from my face. It appeared that we had began the familiar path of driving that was our 3 kilometre stretch driveway. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I realised that in a couple of minutes I would be reunited with Jake and almost all of my stresses would be gone, instantly. A thought occurred to me, I could make it seconds rather than minutes.

I wrestled out of my Mum's hold on me and reached for the car door. Dad, hearing my thoughts had pressed the automatic lock button on the doors but thankfully I had been too quick for him, what with both my vampire speed and making a rational split-second decision, I was out of the car within a hundredth of a second. Dad had stopped the car and was hanging out the driver door, absolutely yelling at me as I took off down the road.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen, get back here this instant" he screamed profusely at me but I couldn't care less about getting in trouble or grounded. I could deal with him later with Jake there at my side.

The thought of Jake sent a sudden intensity burning through my body, urging my legs to push me faster so that I could be with him sooner. I was getting close, I could smell his beautiful woodsy, musky scent combined with the smooth, soft fragrances of Alice, Rose and Emmett, they must've gone out hunting and been returning home. As I rounded the oh-so familiar corner I caught my first glimpse of him, however it was only his back. I still would've been about a kilometre away from him but the sight of him now only made him seem that more real.

"Jake" I screamed as loud as my voice would allow it to go, still running at an insane speed to get to him.

His head snapped up and he turned around instantly, his face looking like he couldn't believe it was the sound of my voice, that he had to see it to believe. He looked confused and dumbstruck. I partly noticed that the sound of my voice had also caught the attention of the rest of my family members, Alice beaming from ear to ear, Emmett already booming with laughter and Rose smiling adoringly at me. But my eyes were only for Jake. I pushed my legs faster and faster until I finally reached him, not bothering to stop I leapt gracefully into his arms and he caught me, like I knew he always would.

I then pulled him into a passionate kiss, not bothering for any apologies or explanations yet, they could wait and come later. He was just as eager as I was, moulding his mouth with mine, he then put both of his hands on either side of my face. His hands were so big that he was able to keep them there, angling my head towards his but at the same time knot his hands into my thick, wavy locks. I pulled away with sudden intensity, I had to stop it because I knew I had a lot of things to say. He let me go willingly enough but kept both hands around my waist and pressed his body to mine, not letting an inch of space between us.

"Jake, I'm so sorry I should've known that you have always loved me. I should've never have doubted you, I don't really deserve anyone like you, you're way too good for me" I said, tears streaming prominently from my ducts.

He smiled, laughing at my apology, "I think you've got it a bit wrong Ness, it's more like you're too good for me" he laughed again.

"Why didn't you ever tell me about the imprinting though, you could've saved both of us all this upset and turmoil" I asked him honestly.

"Because I wanted you to be sure about us, I'll always want what's best for you and what makes you happy. Even if it's not being with me" he said, his face slightly dropping at the end of his sentence.

"Oh Jake, no one could ever come close to having the same impact on me that you do. You're my world, I can't live without you" I assured him.

"I was hoping you would say something like that" he smiled and then let me go for some reason. I frowned almost instantly. He was about to say something when a horn sounded, catching everyone's attention.

At that precise moment, my Mum and Dad rounded the same corner and parked the car in the garage before storming angrily towards me. Jake pushed my behind him slightly and bared his teeth at Dad as he growled at him.

"Renesmee, do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" he yelled harshly at me, I tightened my grip on Jake as I felt him slightly lurch forwards towards my Dad.

"Dad, I'm really sorry. I acted impulsively and I didn't think ... that much but I wasn't hurt and I'm fine and I don't think I could get any happier than I am at this point in time" I smiled, hugging Jake tightly and his kissed my hair in response.

Dad seemed to have blown off all his steam and backed off, not even deciding to end the discussion. He strolled back over to Mum who welcome him with open arms, embracing him deeply. Jake then all of a sudden leaned away from my hug, letting me go. He smiled at me when I frowned and folded my arms across my chest.

"I think I could possibly defy that odd of you not being able to get any happier at this time. Well at least I hope this will make you happy" he laughed nervously as he fumbled around in his back pocket to retrieve a small, deep blue, velvet box.

With Jake's one gesture, everyone reacted very quickly, all expressing their opinion in the matter while I still had no clue as to what was going on.

"Yes" Alice beamed from ear to ear, her hands shaking with excitement.

"Excellent" Rose muttered sarcastically.

"Perfect" Emmett guffawed.

"No" Dad growled fiercely.

"Oh My God" Mum wailed, and buckled at her knees Dad catching her in time.

I blocked all of their voices inside my head and desperately tried to find my own.

"What?" I asked confused as ever, a perplexed look plastered across my face as Jake then proceeded to the floor, took my hand and got down on one knee.

**:O :O :O**

**What is going to happen I wonder???**

**REVIEW AND FIND OUT**

**:)**

**Zoe**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: OK, admit it, how much do you love me? Decided because it is the holiday season that I would give you all an early Christmas present, well here in Australia it is December 24th, not sure what time/date it is in the rest of the world but nevertheless, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and I don't know when I'll update next so if I don't do it before Happy New Year too :D **

**Also;**

**To everyone who had already read it before it got deleted, this is the last chapter you would've got to read before that happened so now you too can actually join the rest of my followers with the suspense and excitement of my story. Thank you to all for sticking with me, it is greatly appreciated and I will try to make the next chapter very lengthy just for you because you are all so great :D but I'll shut up now and let you enjoy it**

**PLEASE REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW**

**Zoe**

**:)**

Chapter 10

I stared down at him on the floor, dumbfounded and still trying to work out what he was doing, whilst in the background of my mind I could barely make out the murmurs of my family behind me, all my attention was focused on him as he then opened his mouth to speak.

"Ness, you've made me the happiest person ever, you came into my life and made it everything it is, I love you so much, you truly are my world" he sighed nervously and then smiled as he opened the small, deep blue, velvet box with an audible snap.

I gasped aloud as I know realised what he was doing. Part of the gasp however was for what lay inside the small box. The ring was beautiful, amazingly crafted and completely perfect for me. The thin, gold band circled endlessly, encrusted with different calligraphy and markings all the way around only adding to its already wondrous beauty. The diamond held in the centre of the ring by two separate bands wrapping around it must've been at least 2 carat.

He took my hand and looked up into my eyes, staring deep into them, presumably trying to decipher my reactions and emotions to see how I would be taking this.

"So how about it Ness?" he said and then gulped, "Will you marry me?" he asked.

My breathing accelerated and my heartbeat increased significantly in the short space of about half a second. Was this really true? Was it actually happening? I was overcome with excitement and happiness. The next thing I knew black spots started appearing randomly until they altogether took over my sight.

I woke up and all I could see was Jake's concerned face with an ominous glow around him, probably from dusk as it was that time. It was a second later that I realised that we were all now inside and I, on the lounge. Everyone was hovering over me where I lay and when they noticed that I had come around they all sighed in relief, I could feel Carlisle's cold hands on my wrist, checking my pulse and another pair of hands on my clammy forehead.

"Oh thank God" Jake sighed, relieved that I was ok, "Don't you ever do that to me again, you scared me so much" he cautioned me playfully.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was going to happen" I defended myself.

"You were just staring at me and then I saw your eyes roll back into your head and then you just dropped, you're lucky Emmett caught you" he told me.

"I think I forgot to breathe" I admitted, embarrassed.

He laughed at this, "Yeah, I think that's kinda important if you want to stay conscious" he pointed out to me.

"Speak for yourself" Emmett yelled and then snickered.

BANG! The loud sound of two solid things impacting with each other could be heard and everyone immediately started laughing. It seemed that the two things had been Uncle Emmett's head and Aunt Rose's hand. She had hit him over the head for ruining mine and Jake's moment, I'd have to remember to thank her for that later.

I decided to bring the focus back onto me and Jake, "I guess I just got so overwhelmed with everything" I smiled as I then remembered what "everything" had been.

"Oh really, I thought you were just trying to avoid my question?" he laughed.

I decided to play dumb, "And what question was that exactly?" I asked perplexed, hoping he would think that I had amnesia but I think my smirk gave me away.

He laughed and then looked around at my family surrounding us his face a little frustrated.

"Don't worry, let me handle this" I assured him, smiling.

_Dad get everyone out. NOW._

My Dad who had no doubtly been reading my mind said, "Oh, um yes, Alice, Emmett, Rose, Bella, Esme, Carlisle will you join me outside perhaps? I want to talk over a few things about the Volturi" he then winked at me.

Once they had all left the room, Jake settled back down next to me on the lounge, taking my small hands into his incredibly large ones.

"Please don't make me say it again ... I had heart palpitations the first time, not to mention what happened when you pulled that stunt just before" he begged.

He waited in anticipation for my response but I couldn't let him suffer anymore, "Of course I'll marry you Jake" I stated, as it were as obvious as the colour of a banana.

His beam radiated outwards from him, "You've just made me the happiest person ever" he smiled as he then took the ring from its box and pulled it up to my face.

"You see on the inside?" he asked me.

I examined the inside of the ring now, after already gawking over its outer beauty. On the inside read the words, _Jacob and Renesmee Forever_.

"Jake its beautiful, its just right for me you're so smart. I love you so much" I smiled as I put the ring back in the box before grabbing his face and pulling it towards me to lock our lips together, for the first time since becoming engaged.

He laughed and pulled away from me, "I hoped you would like it, I chose it out just for you" he smiled, pleased with himself.

I pulled him back in to our kiss that he had broken off earlier, burning with intensity to have him all to myself.

At this time Alice, who couldn't contain herself in yard any longer, came bowling into the lounge room and stopped immediately in front of us, "Excuse me Jacob Black but I did actually help you pick out that particular ring" she said, annoyed that Jake had taken full credit for something that she had been a part of.

Jake held up his hands defensively, "Well I came up with the part on the inside" he said to her smugly.

"But I told you to get the diamond instead of the sapphire" she retorted quickly.

"Well if you don't mind Alice, I actually haven't finished proposing to my girlfriend yet" he complained at her.

He released his arms from around me and untangled himself from our human pretzel that we had managed to create and knelt down on one knee next to the lounge where I was sitting. He took my left hand and delicately placed the ring, that was now mine, on my fourth finger where it would undoubtedly stay for the rest of eternity. He pulled my hand up to his face and kissed it lightly before moving up my arm, across my shoulder and along my collar bone, planting more kisses in between until he stopped at my face. He hesitated there and me being the selfish person that I was could not wait and savour the moment and found myself closing the distance between us until our lips finally met and crushed together.

I had indued the kiss but he, again, had to end it as we were both getting too carried away with Alice standing right next to us and my family in the backyard – still a close enough vicinity for vampire ears. Although our kiss had ended, I didn't let any space between us as he held me to his chest refusing to let me go, and I the same.

Dad had sensed that the intolerable bit – for him – had passed and decided that it was appropriate to bring everyone back into the room. I stood up with Jake when they entered and he wrapped his long arms around me, holding me close.

"So Ness? Do you have some news?" Aunt Rose doted.

I looked up at Jake and he smiled and I couldn't help but smile back, this is all I had ever wanted and now I did have it, the feeling was indescribable.

"We're getting married" I all but squealed.

Aunt Rose ran over to me and hugged me fiercely, we then began jumping up and down, along with Alice, as you would probably see little school girls do.

Uncle Emmett and Jasper came up next. Jasper gave me a quick hug and a "congratulations". Emmett wrapped his arm playfully around my neck putting me in a head lock, "Squirt, I'm so glad you decided to marry the dog, this is going to make my life so much more interesting" he laughed evilly.

I punched him in the gut as hard as I could and he released me and stood next to Rose as she scolded him for being rough with me.

Esme was sobbing again and Carlisle was soothing her while laughing at her for being so silly.

I pulled her in for a hug and found that I was the one comforting her when it had always been the other way around.

"I'm so happy for you Renesmee" she smiled at me.

"Thanks Esme, I don't think I could be any happier" I replied.

Jacob then came over, "Can I steal her back yet?" he asked Esme, laughing as she surrendered me only too willingly to him.

Esme walked back over to Carlisle's and settled herself back into his embrace around her. Jake proceeded to do the same, standing behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. It was a tad awkward for me though as my arms weren't long enough to wrap my arms back around him, so I just settled for resting my hands where he held me. Through all the fuss over where to place my hands I had completely forgotten that I had not received any reactions from either of my parents.

I turned around, still in Jake's hold, and came face to face with my parents. My Dad looked like he was about to blow the roof off, however, he looked so angry he couldn't even talk. I didn't know if I should be worried or glad. It was my Mum who scared me though, even for a vampire she looked incredibly pale she had frozen in place, something that she only did when she was either shocked or stressed – a habit she had picked up from Dad. Both Jake and me exchanged wide eyed glances between each other, not really sure as to what we should be doing.

"Mum? Dad? Please say something" I begged worriedly.

It was Dad who answered me, "Jacob, Renesmee can we have a word with you privately" he spat through his clenched teeth.

**YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO :)**

**Love ya's and HAPPY HOLIDAYS**

**Zoe**

Yikes! My full name, both of us were in serious trouble. I think the rest of my family sensed it too as they all filed out of the living room immediately. Jake then pulled my protectively behind him and positioned himself between me and my parents. He was just making sure I was safe I know but I was more concerned about his safety, my Dad looked pretty pissed. I tugged at Jake's arm and he surrendered to me, letting me lead him to the couch where we both sat down together. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, I hoped that my Dad would be able to cope with that much at least.

"How about you sit down Dad?" I said, gesturing my hand towards the couch opposite to the one where I was seated.

He looked like he had to compose himself before he spoke so that he wouldn't yell at me.

"I think I'll be right standing" he said lightly, still through his tightened jaw.

"Well what's up then?" I began.

"WHAT'S UP?" he yelled and I automatically knew that I probably shouldn't have started the conversation with that particular sentence.

Mum quickly composed herself – once she had managed to unfreeze herself from her original state – and moved over to Dad, trying to calm him down.

"Can you just stay calm so we can talk about this with her" Mum whispered in his ear, although I have no idea why she'd even bothered as Jake and I heard her as if she were talking at a normal volume.

"I'm sorry Mum but I don't see what has you and Dad so worked up over. We're just getting married" I argued.

"Just getting married? I think we both have very different views on what a big deal is" Mum said flatly, like she couldn't believe what I was saying.

"Obviously, what is the big deal then? If we love each other, what else really matters?" I reacted defensively. Jake wrapped his arm around, too scared of my father to speak up.

"You're 7 years old, this is not happening" Dad yelled at me.

"Dad I'm 7 in human years but I don't really think that is an accurate description of how old I am seeing as I'm not even human. I'm getting married and I don't care if I have your blessing or not" I retorted back at him.

"Renesmee, we are not having this discussion, even if we take your "real age" into account you're still only 16" he snapped back at me.

"Ness you're too young" Mum agreed with Dad although was no where near as angry as he was about this.

"Is this really about me?" I eyed Mum speculatively.

She stared at me confused, "What else could this possibly be about?" she asked me.

"You're doing it again Mum, don't think we all can't see it. You're comparing my life to yours" I vented, running my hands through my hair in aggression.

"Renesmee I have no idea what you're talking about" Mum urged towards me.

"Come on Mum, how can you not. You've always gone on about how you don't regret anything that you said or did in the past but you told me yourself that Dad forced you into an early marriage and it wasn't something that you were ready for at 18" Mum winced as she remembered the words that she had indeed spoken and Dad growled profusely at me while Jake angled himself in front of me and returned a snarl at Dad.

I ignored them both and kept on going, "That's it isn't it? You don't want me to get married because you think I'm too young and I'm feeling all pressured by the whole imprint thing" I concluded.

Mum was getting really cut up by what I was saying that she became really upset and leaned into Dad for support. Dad on the other hand could hardly look me in the eyes, he hated seeing Mum so sad but couldn't do anything about it as the one who was inflicting the pain on her was his own daughter. He was torn.

"Renesmee, I'm just trying to look out for you, I just don't want you to rush into things and think stuff through before you make any decisions" she pleaded with me.

"Mum, I'm not a child anymore. I don't need you running around after me telling me what to do anymore" I said lighter, not wanting to hurt her anymore. I could see now that I shouldn't have played the card that I had earlier, it was unfair to her and Dad. I automatically felt horrible for what I'd said and I think that Jake could sense the remorse too as he then pulled my onto his lap and embraced me deeply. I must say I was very proud of my Dad for not reacting to what Jake had done.

Hearing that he smirked and then couldn't help but laugh, "It won't be happening too often so don't get used to it"

Mum ignored him, "Sweetie, we just want you to have a choice, just like I did. I didn't want you to feel weighed down or pressured just because Jacob imprinted on you. Can't you see that I only want what's best for you" she said as she walked over to me and outstretched her arms, gesturing towards me.

I got off Jake's lap and crossed the lounge room floor. It was Mum, however, that made the last necessary steps to close the distance between us. She pulled me in close and held me tightly. While I was still in my arms I decided to attempt an apology, "I know you will only ever want what's best for me but can you at least see that this _is _what I want therefore it has to be what's best for me. I know you weren't ready to settle down and be married at the age of 18 but, Mum, we're two different people and I am ready for this" I whispered into her ear.

Jake came over to where we were and once Mum had released me Jake quickly reclaimed me and wound his arms all the way around me. Dad tried to do the same to Mum but it didn't quite work out what with his arms being no where near as long as Jake's and Mum not being as small as I was.

Jake cleared his throat, "You know Bells and Edward, I'd never do anything to hurt her and if she for some reason didn't want to get married just yet I would be fine with it. You guys know I want what's best for her too" he reasoned with my parents. Mostly my Dad though.

"You know Jacob, no matter how much I despise you for imprinting on my daughter, I'm glad that you're in her life I can see that you make her happier than anyone else ever could" Dad motioned towards Jake.

"Uhhh thanks?" Jake said confused and we all laughed at him.

Just then Emmett bursted through the front door and bombarded his way into the lounge room, searching around until he found us.

"What do you want Emmett?" Dad questioned him, seeing the massive grin plastered on his face.

"Just wanted to see if anyone was up for a little football in the clearing?" he said, his eyes intent on me. I wonder why?

Jake looked at me and I nodded, "Sweet, I'm in. What about you Bells" he asked looking at my Mum.

"Ummm sadly I think I'm going to have to pass, I have to get dinner on for Jake and Nessie" she laughed, even with her being a vampire her enthusiasm or talent in sports had not changed much since she had been human. The exception being baseball of course.

"Dad?" I asked politely.

"I think I'l keep Bella company, maybe I might come and watch I don't think I would want to miss it" he laughed, I was obviously missing an inside joke but honestly what's new?

"Renesmee are you in?" Emmett said on the edge of his toes.

"Ummm, I don't know, Mum might need some help and I don't really want to get stuck between you and Jasper" I laughed.

"Come on" Emmett pleaded with me, almost begging.

"Go and play sweetie, I'll manage fine by myself. Besides I have Edward here to help me, go and let loose for a bit" Mum smiled urging me on.

"Ok, I'm in, I guess, just let me get changed out of my heels and into some tights ok?" I asked Emmett.

"Excellent" he grinned mischievously.

"And promise me you and Uncle Jasper aren't going to gang up on my like you always do in every other game we play" I said to Emmett, tapping my stiletto on the marble floor.

"What do you think the dog is for?" he laughed as he nodded in Jake's direction.

"Hey" Jake growled, while everyone else laughed.

I giggled too as I then turned away from everyone and made my way upstairs to the third floor where my bedroom was located.

I pushed my double door entry open and then proceeded to my even larger wardrobe, courtesy of Aunt Alice. I searched intently for a pair of black tights and my runners in my enormous wardrobe. I tried to use my sense of smell but alas I had not a chance in hell of that working out and finally decided to put that option to rest. I was about to give up and yell out the window for Aunt Alice to come up and dress me, when I gracefully tripped right over the pair of runners I had been looking for. After a quick change of clothes I grabbed a hair elastic off the top of my vanity and pulled my hair back into a pony tail for practical reasons. Bringing my hand back down I couldn't help but stare at the gigantic rock on my finger, it was incredible, absolutely amazing, words couldn't describe how perfect this ring was, especially for me. It was then that I decided that Jake, or Alice for that matter, would never forgive me if I damaged or lost my new engagement ring whilst playing football and quite rightly too, I don't think I would ever forgive myself, I would probably die of embarrassment. So with that in mind I placed my ring on my vanity where no harm would come to it and exited my bedroom swiftly. I couldn't wait for our game to start, I was really excited and for what reason I couldn't be sure, I think it was something in Emmett's tone that had me intrigued. I rounded the corner of the hallway on the third floor and decided that I wanted to try something a little different, something that I hadn't done in ages.

I was standing at the top of the staircase and was staring down all the way to the ground floor. I then proceeded in sitting on the banister holding underneath with my hands gripped around it firmly. I slid my butt up and down on the spot to make sure I wasn't going to stop or go too fast all the way down to the ground floor.

I then heard my Dad's voice from downstairs, "Don't even think about it Renesmee" he yelled all the way up the stairs.

I pushed off the post at the top of the banister and yelled back down, "Too late" as I began sliding down my stair case.

I made it past the third floor, had cleared the second when I all of a sudden started to pick up pace really quickly and much more than I had anticipated, I was on the final turn of the stair case and was coming down at an incredible speed when from out of no where emerged Emmett with his big bear arms open ready to catch me.

SMASH! The sound was deafening when I finally flew off the banister and smack bang into my Uncle's arms, it hurt too, I'm sure I will have bruises for months now. He quickly threw me over his shoulder like you would a sack and started running out the door and down the front porch steps towards the clearing. Dusk was almost gone but a fair light still illuminated the skies brightening them up enough that we would still be able to play out little game of football.

I was pounding my fists on his back helplessly, "Put me down Emmett" I said but I could not contain my laughter.

"Not a chance squirt" he laughed as well.

We got to the clearing in a matter of seconds, Emmett was the third fastest though, behind me and Dad of course. I tried to make out what I could while I was upside down but didn't get very far. I think swung me back around so I was cradled in his arms like a child. I then continued my assessment of the clearing. Jasper and Rose were about 200 metres away from us, obviously waiting for us to kick off. Jake was to Emmett's right and was about 50 metres away.

"Jake tell him to put me down" I yelled at him, still trying to withhold my giggles but failing profusely.

"Don't worry Ness" was all he said, and I immediately started to give him "the look". I hoped he knew he was in trouble for not helping me because he was sure as hell going to get a little piece of me later.

I had almost completed my assessment of our field until at thought occurred to me, "Hey Emmett? Where is the ball?" I asked innocently.

He said nothing and smiled evilly, tightening his grip on me so I had no chance of getting away from his clutch. That's when it hit me. I was the ball. Oh No.

"42, 34, 27, Hut, hut, hike" Emmett yelled and now balanced me in only one of his hands just behind his head.

Jake had run straight ahead towards Rose and Jasper, obviously the receiver. He had to be at least 150 metres away from where me and Emmett were standing.

"Are you ready? You might want to curl up into a ball for me, makes my throw more accurate" Emmett called over his shoulder.

"No, don't even think about chucking me over there I am not some inanimate object whose purpose _is_ to be flung around by people trying to score touch downs. GO AND GET A REAL BALL " I yelled frantically.

"1 ... 2 ..." Emmett began counting down.

"DADDY, Help ME" I screamed, still half-giggling.

"3" Emmett yelled and I could feel the tension in his muscles tighten around me as they launched back, closing my eyes tight I tried to imagine that this wasn't actually happening and then ... I was flying through the air.

I screamed all the air out of my lungs in about a second and had to gasp another quick breath in before I began my descent, making my way back to earth. Stupid gravity! I opened my eyes and could see Jake running with his head up looking at me and his arms stretched outwards in front of him. Rose had raced on ahead and had her sights set on tackling Emmett to the ground. I could also see Jasper running towards Jake, eyes only for taking him out. Judging by the distance between me and Jake, Jasper was either just going to get Jake or he was just going to miss us. The distance between me and Jake's arms was closing rapidly and in another second was gone.

CRASH! He had caught me, but boy did it hurt. We were all in a tangled up mess on the floor, Jacob, Jasper and me. You see Jake _had _caught me but had tripped in the process leading him to fall straight to the floor and me landing right across his chest, something that wouldn't have bothered me at all except when my Uncle Jasper trips over Jake's incredibly long legs and falls right on top of me, squashing me instantly and making my head impact with a small boulder. Everyone was in hysterics, Jake, Jasper, Rose and especially Emmett, everyone but me seeing as I was finding it difficult too breathe at all.

"Touchdown, whoo" Emmett yelled from across the field.

"Can't breathe" I managed to get out before Jasper realised he was crushing me and immediately jumped up and dusted himself off.

He then turned around and offered me his hands before withdrawing them and staring at me horrified, "Your head, it's bleeding. I have to go" he said and then turned and ran into the forest away from me and my blood.

On hearing that I was in fact bleeding Jake stopped laughing and removed himself from underneath me. Removing his shirt and placing it firmly against the abrasion that was on my head.

I tried to sit up but he would not allow it, he just pushed me back down, "How are you feeling?" he asked anxiously.

I groaned, "I'm fine, actually I'm a little hungry. Can we please just go back to the house?" I pleaded with him.

"I don't think you should move just yet" he told me.

"Please Jake" I asked, trying to be persuasive. If he got his way I would probably still be lying her in two hours.

"Carlisle will be home from work now, you can get him to check her out when we get back" Rose said, pandering over me too. Emmett and Jasper had already started to make their way back to the house.

"Ok, let's go" Jake muttered.

Finally! I went to get up when he stopped me once again, "What do you think you're doing?" he said staring at me incredulously.

Was this a trick question? "Getting up" I answered back.

He laughed, "Oh no you don't. Not on my watch anyway" he said as he knelt down next to my head and slip one of his arms under my back and the other just below my knees and pulled me up so that he was cradling me. The last time I was in this position, it didn't work out that well.

"Don't worry Ness, we'll be home soon," he murmured softly into my hair as he began running through the forest. I nodded but kept my eyes closed, I think the jet lag from the plane had only just hit me now, I felt so exhausted.

Jake shook me gently in his arms, "Come on Ness, you need to try to stay awake. You hit your head and I'm going to get Carlisle to check you out when we get home" he told me.

I opened my eyes and began to stare back into his, "Jake I'm not going out of consciousness I'm just exhausted from the plane ride home, please just let me sleep" I argued with him.

He thought it through in his head before he answered me, "Ok but we'll be home soon anyway, can you try and hang on for another 2 minutes, then I promise you can sleep all you want.

I nodded against his chest but kept my eyes closed, I was tired but I was going to try and stay awake, just for his sanity. I concentrated on his heartbeat that I could hear right next to my head and counted out how many beats had gone by until we reached the house. I must have drifted off in that time though, listening to my lover's heart fly, as I now became aware of a very familiar place in my mind, my dreams.

It seemed like my life was finally starting to work out for me and the only possible threat to my happiness was the Volturi. They would eventually come in search of me but until then the only thing that mattered was me and Jake.


	11. Chapter 11

**It's finally here the first chapter that no one in the history of the world has ever read :O**

**I'm expecting lots of reviews just because I am awesome haha nahh Im not THAT up myself but please REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW and let me know what you think**

**Happy New Year**

Chapter 11

Boom-boom, boom-boom, the deep thrumming sound of Jake's heartbeat echoed throughout my head. I was still very out of it trying to hold onto my grip of reality, I'm not even sure if what I was hearing was just my imagination although I had a feeling I was in a state of some consciousness. I could also feel his hot breath against my forehead, not even the least bit strained from running all this time.

I then felt him shake me lightly in his arms, "Ness?" he asked, his voice sounding worried.

I tried to answer him but for some reason my brain did not want to connect with my voice and found myself failing in communication with him.

"Oh no" he exhaled heavily as he realised that I didn't reply to him, "Come on Ness, please wake up, don't do this to me" he fretted, his anxiety levels through the roof now. I so desperately wanted to reach out and touch his face, so that I could show him that I was alright and everything was going to be ok but my mind wasn't having any of it and refused to connect my commands with the corresponding body part.

He shook me again this time a little bit harder than before, "Come on Renesmee, you really need to wake up, we're almost at the house and if your Dad sees you like this he's going to kill me" he said, now worried for his own personal safety and quite rightly too. My Dad would go off his rocker when he saw what had happened to me. I tried again to respond to him but there had been no change in my mental capacity to think since last time I had tried to answer him.

"Oh Edward is going to murder you, dog. I think I might just help him finish you off" Rose said smugly.

"I can't even see her thoughts with me holding her like this but she's breathing so she has to be alright to an extent. Her head is still bleeding though, she did hit it pretty hard. What if ... what if when she hit her head it messed with her power?" Jake whispered, he was really frightened now it seemed.

"Then Edward is going to doubly murder, oh this will be a fun day" Rose said clapping her hands together. I was going to have to remember to tell her off for that one later.

I knew I was quite badly hurt when I realised I could not even reach my hands up to his face and show him that I was somewhat conscious and that I actually could hear what he was saying. My thought was cut short by the familiar sound of our back door sliding open, a small part of my brain realised we must've taken the short cut route back as we were entering via the back door as opposed to the front which in fact had been the one that we had exited from.

"What took you so long?" my Dad yelled angrily at Jake. It seemed that he had already been briefed on what exactly had gone on in the clearing by either Jasper or Emmett.

"I ran as fast as I could" Jake said trying to defend himself.

"Obviously it wasn't fast enough" Dad said cruelly as I now felt myself being exchanged from Jake's moderate arms to someone's – presumably Dad's – ice cold hold. I could almost feel the hairs rise on Jake's arms as he grazed my Dad's arm in the process of swapping me over. I felt myself quickly wiped to one side as if Dad were snatching me out of Jake's hold quite petty and childishly.

Dad's quick footsteps echoed off the floorboards with another set right on his heels until they stopped altogether and a range of gasps heard from all around the room.

"Edward what happened to her?" my Mum said horrified, as she rushed over and placed her cooling hands on either side of my face.

"We can have explanations later. Right now I would like you, Edward, to take her into my office where I can properly assess her" Carlisle said his medical instinct kicking into gear.

"I'm coming with you" Mum said worriedly.

Dad walked a little longer down the hallway until he stopped at Carlisle's office door which he had to kick open as he had me draped over both of his arms. He placed me lightly down on what felt like a gurney and I only now realised the thrumming pain in my head. Mum, Carlisle and Jake followed in after, someone shut the door.

"I think you should wait outside Jacob" my Dad growled fiercely under his breath.

"The hell I am" Jake spat back at him and then I heard his footsteps approach me before a big stomp on the floor made then come to an abrupt halt.

"I let you take her out against my better judgement and this is what happens, this is the state you return her in? Battered and bruised with a head injury bleeding profusely from her skull, I can't even get a read off her, her mind is completely blank. Do you understand how much damage you have caused to her? Get out, you don't deserve to be here" Dad vowed back at him, you could hear the venom in his voice.

"I have even more right to be here than you do, she's _my_ fiancee and I'm staying. Yes, I took her out to have some fun. I thought she would want to get away from everything and just let loose, considering the way she's been feeling these past few days. I would've thought her own _father_ would be able to see this more clearly than anyone else. Some mind reader you are, you don't even know what your own daughter really needs" Jake fired back at him.

"Don't even think about trying to pull this back on me you have no one to blame but yourself for this, this is all your fault, you'll be lucky if I even let you see her again " Dad began but was then silenced by Mum.

"Edward let it go, please just stop" Mum whispered by Dad's side.

"No Bella, I'll be done in a minute but Jacob has had this coming to him for a long time" Dad yelled back at Mum, something he has never ever done before.

"Edward I said stop it, _now_" Mum pronounced forcefully.

"Fine, I see nothing is going to get through this dog's head anytime soon, I guess we'll just have to sort it out physically or is he too afraid that he'll get beaten up after last time. That is what you did to my daughter and so now that is what you are sure to get" Dad growled and now I could hear his footsteps moving away from me and towards the door, where Jake was probably standing just in front of.

At that moment Carlisle pressed against the cut on my forehead and I winced and shied away from him. It was now I realised that I had regained some control of my body and now seemed like a good time to intervene between Dad and Jake or it would be most likely that it was going to turn ugly fast. My eyelids fluttered opened and I rolled my head to see Mum standing in between Dad and Jake both staring viciously into each other's eyes.

"Jake, No" I tried to scream but my voice was barely audible, although with vampire and werewolf hearing they all heard me just fine.

Both their heads turned away from each other and snapped to look at me at the sound of my voice. Jake left Dad standing their and retreated to my side instantly, Dad was about to follow when Mum tightened her grip on his arm and looked angrily into his eyes.

"She asked for him not you. Now, we need to talk" she said emotionless and then pulled him out of the office to take him off so that they could have their discussion.

Jake's face looked absolutely relieved and ecstatic to see that I was okay. I almost didn't notice Carlisle poking and prodding at the deep cut I had on my forehead as Jake sat down next to me and took my hand. "You have no idea how much you scared me just then" he laughed a little as he exhaled.

I tried to sit up but I was pushed back down by both him and Carlisle, "well I guess I could say the same thing, what the hell was going on between you and my Dad just then?" I raised my voice, angry that they had almost gotten into a fist fight again.

He looked away from my anger powered stare, embarrassed I can only assume, "Renesmee you have to understand that I was not in the state to be pushed like your Dad did, especially when you're out cold" he explained himself defensively.

"Jake you know violence never solves anything and you know I absolutely hate it. Do you have any idea how terrified I was, waking up to see you two like that?" I questioned him, my angry front I had put up was slowly starting to crumble and reveal the delicate, emotional Renesmee that lay underneath.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, it wasn't fair on you, I know that" he said resting his head against my hand, "this is all my fault" he mumbled in against my palm.

"Jake it wasn't all your fault, Dad was wrong when he said that, it's no ones fault if anything it's my fault" I exhaled deeply.

"Renesmee, both you and I know that that is not true. How is any of this your fault?" he questioned me seriously.

"If I hadn't agreed to play with Emmett, this never would've happened, if I weren't a freak of nature who was half a fragile human and half an indestructible vampire none of this would be happening" I huffed as I gave up and let out a tear that had been sitting there and waiting for a long time to come out.

"Don't cry, it's ok. Don't ever think about yourself that way, you're silly, gorgeous girl. You're absolutely perfect in every way, especially perfect for me" he said as he wiped the tears from my face, laughing quietly to himself.

"You would say that wouldn't you? Don't you think that was a little overkill Jake? Absolutely perfect in every way? Come on" I asked him speculatively, letting a little giggle escape from my mouth.

He returned a laugh and began to chuckle with me, "Nope, I don't think I'm over killing it at all actually. I only speak the truth" he laughed.

"Bull, You're the biggest liar I know, well I'm sure my family could give you a run for your money but where you separate from them is that they are actually convincing" I laughed.

"Lying is a bad thing though, so technically isn't it a good thing that according to you I'm so rotten at it" he chuckled at the end, making my heart flutter at the sound.

"Yeah but do you know what?" I asked him giggling.

"What" he said.

"It doesn't matter because I love you either way, bad lies and all" I laughed again as I lightly kissed him on the nose.

Just then, I felt a sharp stinging sensation where my cut was and screamed out in pain. Carlisle was obviously wiping my wound with antiseptic, it actually didn't hurt that bad it was more that I wasn't expecting it.

Jake jumped at my scream and his face again filled with worry, he grabbed Carlisle's hand and pulled it away from my head instantly, "Stop it, you're hurting her" he let out, you could hear the stress in his voice. He never liked it when I was in any form of pain and watching me lay helplessly here was agonizing for him.

"Jake it's ok, Carlisle just caught me off guard and surprised me, I'm fine" I assured him, trying to get up again but got pushed back down by Jake. I stared intently into his eyes making sure that he was calming down and once I could see that all the fear had withdrawn from his eyes I began again, "Now can you let Carlisle go?" I asked warily.

He looked at me blankly for a moment before looking at his hand and its grip on Carlisle's wrist, his cheeks immediately went bright red and released Carlisle's hand from his hold, "Sorry Carlisle" he muttered very softly.

"Don't worry about it, I should've told Renesmee what I was about to do, it was my mistake" Carlisle said, taking responsibility for the situation like he always did. That's what I loved about him, he was so selfless.

Jake settled back down on the seat next to where I was laying and took my hand, taking it to his mouth and continually kissing it sporadically.

Carlisle sighed heavily, "What is it? What's wrong?" Jake asked, really concerned for my health and overall well-being.

"Her cut is too deep to just dress with a bandage, I'm going to have to stitch it up I'm afraid" he said apologetically.

I groaned, "This is just going to make my Mum and Dad and not to mention Jake too, freak out even more, are you sure there isn't anything else you can do?" I pleaded with him.

He laughed at my logic, "I'm sorry Renesmee but there isn't anything else that I am able to do, so just try and sit still for me while I do this please" he reasoned with me. Jake laughed at my helplessness but he was then silenced immediately with a death glare from me, I hated it when he cracked jokes about me especially when I was already annoyed about the situation that I was in.

I grumbled quietly to myself while Carlisle stitched up my head, wincing every time I could feel the tug of the thread being pulled by the needle through my skin over and over again, trying to make things how they were, trying to putting everything back in its place again. I couldn't even look at Carlisle's face while he concentrated it made me feel sick to my stomach, something that my Mum said that she also felt when she was injured or bleeding, which according to Dad was quite a lot of the time. I wasn't quite so bad as Mum although I wasn't impeccable like my Aunt's and Uncle's, it didn't even take that long to figure out that I actually could bleed. I was 3, well rather I looked 3, in truth I was probably about 5 or 6 months old, and had been out hunting with Jacob. I had gotten really excited about catching a bigger moose than him and had run over to him to rub it into his face. I was so excited that I forgot to look where I was going and missed the large tree root sticking up out of the ground and tripped over it, rolling a couple of times before I finally stopped. It had taken a while for me to register what had actually happened before I let out a very high pitched scream of agony and then I began to cry and cry and cry. At that time, it had only been the second instance where I had cried, on hearing my wail, Jake had rushed immediately over to my side and told me it was going to be ok. He ran me, still crying, back to the house as fast as he could and took me straight to Carlisle – a little like what he had done today – so that he could fix me up, truth being told I only needed a band-aid and kisses from Mum, Dad, Rose and Jake to make it all better but I was only 3 and everything is always ten times worse when you're that age. Jake, the poor thing, also had to feel the angry wrath of my Mum and Dad and needless to say that was the last time Jake was allowed to take me hunting by himself for a while.

Carlisle must've been talking with Jake and I hadn't been aware of it, too caught up in my memories. It was Carlisle's change in the tone of his voice that had brought me back to reality.

"There we are, all done" Carlisle exclaimed and turned away from me to grab another antiseptic wipe and sponged around the edges of the bandage over my stitches.

I laughed remembering my thoughts a moment ago, Mum absolutely scolding Jake for letting me hurt myself, at one point I thought she was literally going to bite his head off and the only thing that stopped her from doing it was me.

"What's so funny?" Jake asked, wanting to know what was on my mind.

I laughed again as I reached my hands up to his face to show him what I thought was so funny. I closed my eyes and concentrated on what I had been thinking only moments earlier. After a few minutes Jake began to laugh with me.

"Oh, I remember that" he said, continuing onto,"Your Mum was seriously going to kill me for letting you get a little scratch on your knee" he exclaimed.

I laughed at him, Jake was always the one for stories, "Am I good to go now Carlisle?" I asked him, hoping that he would give me the all clear to go.

"Yes Renesmee, you can go. I know you're dying to get out of here anyway. I've given you some morphine for the pain but if you need anymore you know where to find me. It will have made you a bit drowsy so I suggest you just take it easy for now, maybe go straight to bed" he pleaded with me.

"Sure, sure. I will take it easy I promise. Come on Jake" I said as I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed and got up, racing for the door. I think I had done things a little too quickly as I began to feel light headed almost instantly after sitting up, I felt my knees buckle from underneath me and then the next thing I knew I was staring at the ceiling of Carlisle's office. You see, Carlisle had caught me just in time to stop me from causing more harm to myself than that of what I already have. He set me back onto my feet but kept his arms around me, just incase, and looked at me concerned.

"What did I say about three seconds ago?" he looked at me appraisingly with his golden eyes.

"I know, I know. Take it easy. I just got up too fast and had a bit of a head rush that's all" I assured him.

He looked me over a couple of times before releasing me, only to have Jake's arms replace his around my waist. We started to walk out of his office when Carlisle stopped Jake and whispered to him, "Make sure she takes it easy, stress wouldn't be good for her right now" Jake just nodded nonchalantly and continued walking alongside me.

"You know, just because I have a cut on my forehead doesn't mean that I'm deaf" I said annoyed at them both as they laughed at my statement.

"Thanks for your help Carlisle" Jake said appreciatively.

"Don't mention it Jacob, what else am I here for" he chuckled to himself as me and Jake walked out the door of the office.

Jake's plan – much to my objection – was to follow Carlisle's suggestion and take me straight up to bed and let me sleep but we both knew that was going to be impossible seeing as we had to pass the lounge room, where undoubtedly my whole family would be waiting for me, to get to the staircase. Sure enough as soon as we rounded the corner of the long hallway we were both immediately surrounded by Rose, Esme, Mum and Dad all trying to see how I was.

Rose snatched me out of Jake's arms and held me in her own, "How are you feeling sweetie? Are you ok? What did Carlisle's say?" she asked very agitated, the questions just kept on rolling out of her mouth.

"Yeah, what did Carlisle say, baby?" Mum asked me now, joining Rose with much the same anxiety.

Everyone being around me felt really disorientating and made me feel a little uneasy, "Jake?" I asked for him distressed as I searched around the room looking for him.

Dad decided to step in on my behalf, "Rose, Bella, relax and back off a bit, she's feeling really overwhelmed by you all pandering to her" Dad said and then took me off Rose and dragged me over to the couch, making me sit down. Everyone followed after us, of course, and now Jasper, Emmett and Alice all huddled around the sofa where I was sitting.

"Where's Jake?" I asked again.

"I'm right here Renesmee" he said and pushed through Jasper and Emmett to come over and sit next to me. I cuddled close to him and in response to that he pulled me onto his lap and cradled me in his arms making me feel that much safer.

"Jacob, what did Carlisle say?" Rose asked after a few minutes, she probably knew that I wasn't in the mood to talk so I wouldn't explain what was going on. So giving up on me she had turned to Jake for reassurance.

"She's fine, had to get a couple of stitches though" he said to her emotionless, not once taking his eyes off me.

"What about her power was that affected when she hit her head" Mum asked frantically.

Jake was about to answer Mum but Dad cut him off, "I can read her mind fine, it's a little hazy but it has always been like that" he said to Mum and she calmed down almost instantly, I wonder if Jasper had anything to do with it. After Dad had cleared up the I was, physically, fine the whole family decided to back off and all returned to what they had been doing previously, leaving just Jake, me, Mum and Dad in the room.

"I'm just going to take her up to bed now, Carlisle said she would be feeling tired" Jake told both of my parents as he began to get up off the couch with me in his arms, I clutched both of my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest. He was right I was absolutely exhausted, being a human football really takes it out of you although I'm sure the morphine had a lot to do with my fatigue also.

He was almost at the stairs when my Dad's voice stopped him, "Jacob?" he said.

Jake paused and pivoted at the foot of the stairs to face my Dad, "What is it Edward?" he asked him.

Dad was holding Mum at his side and she had both of her arms wrapped around him, both looked really thankful, "We both just wanted to tell you how grateful we are towards you. We can see how much you care about her" Mum quickly elbowed Dad in the ribs, prompting him about something, he gave her a look and then continued on with what he was going to say, "And I also wanted to apologise for the way I acted earlier in Carlisle's office I think we were all a little on edge and weren't thinking straight" he said, obviously Mum's talk with him had gotten him to see reason and apologise.

"It's alright Edward, I know you care about her just as much as I do, we all only want what's best for her. Even if we don't agree on what it is" he exhaled softly and then wished them both a good night and then they both came into kiss me a good night and tell me how much they loved me.

Once my parents had finished wishing me good dreams and all that, Jake turned back around to carry me up the stairs and take me to our bedroom, now that we were sleeping in the same room again. He adjusted me so that he was cradling me with just one arm while he pulled down the covers on my bed and then placed my lightly in the centre of it, pulling the covers back up to my chin. He just sat next to me and brushed my bronze curls out of my face and then leant down to kiss me on my forehead being careful not to go anywhere near my stitches. I just stared up at his gorgeous face bewildered how – some way – he was all mine.

We stayed like this for a while before he started to get up, "I'll let you sleep now" he whispered softly to me.

"No, please don't leave me" I said in anguish, grabbing at his shirt feverishly.

"I'm not leaving you I'll just be on the other side of the room besides your Dad would kill me if I stayed here all night" he reasoned with me.

"Please just stay with me until I fall asleep" I begged him and how could he refuse a wish of his imprint and settled himself back down so that he was lying behind me on top of the covers with his arms wrapped tightly around me. I fell asleep in no time at all, grounded by the fact that things did seem to be looking up. I was engaged to the man of my dreams and soon enough I would be married to him, life didn't get much better than that.

I awoke that same night to a deep throbbing sensation in my head, it appeared that the morphine that Carlisle had given me earlier in the night had worn off. I got out of bed dazed and groggy and stumbled across the room until I found the door. I could hear Jake's loud snores and laughed quietly to myself. Emmett always makes a joke of it, asking me how I am able to sleep when he makes such a racket. I tip-toed down the stairs and headed for the kitchen where I was hoping I would find some Ibuprofen or Panadeine to soothe the stabbing discomfort that I felt in my head.

After searching all the cupboards in the kitchen I finally found what I was looking for and aptly took them with a large glass of water. Hoping for instant pain relief I was exceedingly disgruntled when no such effect had taken place. Giving up and hoping that I would be able to go back to bed and sleep it off, I made my way back through my enormous house and got to the staircase when a voice stopped me.

"Renesmee?" It was Aunt Rose she was sitting on the lounge flipping through the television channels.

I turned around to face her, "What's up?" I said groggily.

"Are you ok sweetie?" she inquired at me, probably judging by my appearance and the fact that I was out of bed at this time she knew something was off.

"No not really" I admitted, bursting into tears. I hated being so emotional but I was enervated beyond belief and my head was throbbing profusely.

She was immediately at my side hugging me tight, "What's wrong Ness? Did you and Jacob have a fight?" she asked, trying to resolve my sadness.

She walked us both over to the couch and sat me down so that I was facing her and took my hands in her own, waiting for me to compose myself before she began to talk again. "Whatever is the matter?" she asked again.

"Rose my head is hurting beyond belief and I took some Ibuprofen for it but it's not working" I let out really quickly, feeling very sorry for myself.

"Oh sweetie" she said sympathetically towards me and pulled me in for a hug.

"Where is everyone? More importantly where is Carlisle, maybe he can give me some more morphine for my head" I asked looking up at Rose's immaculate face.

"I'm sorry Renesmee, they've all gone out hunting. Emmett and I stayed behind just in case something happened with you or Jacob" she apologised to me, I'm sure she was feeling horrible that she wasn't able to do anything to help me.

"Well that's perfect isn't it" I muttered sarcastically, really annoyed and slightly upset that I wouldn't be able to sleep well tonight.

I began to get up and return back to my bedroom and just try to get the best sleep possible that I would be able to get when Rose stopped me by grabbing my wrists. I turned to look at her, confused at what she was trying to do.

"Hold on a second" she said to me and trusting her, I did.

She pulled me back down onto the couch and began to advance her hand to my forehead, I flinched away automatically, my head was already in so much pain that the pressure of someone's hand on my stitches would've most likely sent me over the edge.

Rose looked at me, "Just trust me ok" she pleaded with me and after a little consideration I nodded to her and she went ahead and pressed her hand to my head.

After the initial feeling of pain, I then felt her soft, ice-cold hand brush against my head and it felt so good. I could already feel it started to numb and after no time at all it was evident that the throbbing was going down, even if it was ever so slowly.

"How does that feel?" she inquired to me, looking at my face as well and judging my reactions to her hand on my forehead.

"It's numbing it" I said amazed, ecstatic that the horrible pain that I was experiencing was subsiding.

"How about you spend tonight with me?" she suggested to me and I didn't even have to think it over twice.

"Thanks so much Rose" I said, glad that I was going to get a decent nights sleep. In the back of my mind I thought of deserting Jake but I was sure he would understand.

And with that, Rose moved all the way to the edge of the lounge and and put a pillow on her lap. I then proceeded to lie down on it and once my head was on the pillow she placed her hand right on top of my bandage where my throbbing cut and stitches lay underneath. She also threw a blanket over me incase I got too cold from her body being next to mine. I almost instantly drifted off to sleep, with Rose's cold hand relieving any pain that my head was giving off . In those last few moments before slipping into complete unconsciousness I felt her other hand brushing through my curls, like she used to do when I was a little girl. I felt completely safe and at ease as I finally entered unconsciousness and my dreams were light and uplifting. I began to dream about our wedding, it was perfect and I became happy as I realised that this dream would soon become a reality.

**A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! I hope 2010 is a great year for everyone. My new year's resolution is to finish this story but I might need you guys to bear with me, I will be undergoing my leaving school certificate in October :S and I want to get good marks. I hope everyone understands if I don't update as much.**

**Remember: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW **

**:)**

**Love ya's all**

**Zoe **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I am soooo sorry this chapter was not up sooner like I had promised. I just had a really insane week, got really sick and then went to school and fainted hit my head and got bruises EVERYWHERE so I've been put on bedrest for about a week now. I felt bad so I tried to make this one long, I actually think this is the longest chapter so I hope you enjoy. Please review if you have any ideas etc.**

Chapter 12

The first few moments when you realise that you are awake but keep your eyes closed to savour the sweet, sweet dream that you are having just so that you can hold onto it for an extra minute, especially when you are dreading what will confront you when you do happen to awake. That is what I am experiencing right now. Dreaming is second place when I feel the most safe, the first – of course – is when I am in Jake's arms, nothing could or would ever compete with that. However, dreaming has not always been a place where I had been so willing to go, there was a darker time in my life, not so long ago, where I could never feel safe about going to sleep fearful of my mind and what it would generate and project onto me. I use to dread anytime I would feel weary because of the knowledge that as soon as I gave up the control of my mind and logical thinking the sooner I was to have a night terror that would haunt me as I would carry out my day, always with me, haunting me, in the back of my mind. With all that being said though, this morning, I couldn't have felt more at ease with dreaming and as I slowly cam back into the world of reality I looked back on my dream and envied the happy life that me and Jake seemed to be living in it.

My dream was of a different life nothing compared to what I actually had. We had a house in a tropical location in a remote area on the beach, a gorgeous little cottage situated in between the palms and the soft white sand. There was a love swing out on the balcony and me and Jake were sitting on it, swinging the night away looking out onto the horizon where there was a beautiful rising sun. The bliss and serenity of the whole thing was evident in the calm and collected beings that were me and Jake. My mind then decided to throw something at me I hadn't expected when we both turned towards the front door, hearing screams of laughter and then looking at each other and sighing although laughing as well. At that moment, two dark-haired children, a little boy and slightly older girl – both still would've only been toddlers – ran through the door and came and jumped on both me and Jake, screaming Mummy and Daddy. That one I hadn't been expecting as the thought of Jake and me ever having children was not something that we had discussed or something I had even thought about. I had deemed the subject too scary to even think that me and Jake would have to be responsible for another life form especially that of a baby, something that I had thought I would never want until now. Being faced with the fact that the Volturi will come in a matter of weeks and take my family away from me is something that does make you think about life and what your goals and aspirations are, especially what you want for your future and somehow I think that my subconscious was trying to tell me something in showing these two children in my dreams but truth be told only time would tell what my future held and right about now my future was looking very dark and I would never ever get to meet these two children that I had dreamt of.

I now noticed the same tugging of my hair that I had felt last night just before I had drifted off to sleep and realised that Aunt Rose must have stayed with me all night soothing my aching head. I stretched my arms out from underneath me and yawned very loudly before I opened my eyes and waited for them to focus on my surroundings. I flipped myself over and sat up slowly, getting a wave of vertigo immediately and a deep throbbing sensation emerged from my forehead, making me remember why it was so sore. I groaned and clutched where the pain was coming from, hunching myself over the edge of couch. I didn't even notice that it wasn't Aunt Rose who was there with me.

"Good morning to you too" I heard the familiar chuckle of my Dad turning my head so that it rested on my knees, groggily looking at him before groaning in pain.

"I don't know if you can't already tell, which is probably not likely because you are able to read my mind, but I'm not in exactly the best mood as so joking around with me isn't going to get you far" I straight-up told him.

He chuckled again, this time much quieter probably not intended for my ears but never the less I heard him. His facial expression and tone then changed as he turned back towards me, this time more sympathetic. I think what I'd said had sunken in, "I'm sorry Renesmee, how is your head this morning?" he asked, looking and sounding very much like Carlisle as he did so, no doubt he was going to take my response from a medical point of view.

With no tolerance for the pain at all I muttered honestly, "It hurts like hell. As soon as your hand was away from it started to burn again" grabbing his hand and placing it back on my head, him laughing at me in the process.

"Do you want me to see if I can find anything with some codeine in it, Ibuprofen or Panadeine perhaps?" he asked.

Before he'd even finished speaking I was already shaking my head, "Didn't Rose tell you? I tried that last night and it didn't work. Why did you think I was sleeping on her lap in the first place? I need morphine, that is the only thing that will work" My fatigue was showing as well as my temper.

"I know Renesmee, but even in a human it's not good to rely on morphine for pain relief and with your body we're still not sure as to the outcome that is has on you" Dad reasoned with me, I knew he was going to have some excuse as to why I couldn't have it. I loved my Dad and I know he loves me, don't get me wrong but sometimes he cares too much.

He laughed when hearing this, "You're right Renesmee, I do love you, more than you'll ever know but a great person once said, you can never care too much" he smiled at me, his infamous crooked smile, something that would've made Mum melt. Dad, you know that has no where near the same effect.

"It's always worth a try" he smirked at me and then let out a laugh.

"You're almost as good at dazzling Mum as you are at distracting me", I said as I gave him a dirty look, "Please can we just go and talk to Carlisle about it?" I whimpered, trying to subtly bat my eyelashes in an attempt to use the gift that my Mum unintentionally gave me, her eyes.

He sighed and I grinned, this meant he had caved and I had yet again got my way. I almost felt bad that I had something over him but then again I was using it only when in dire need; and I think having a headache so bad I'm having trouble thinking straight classifies as pretty desperate.

"Come on then" he said as he got up off the coach and stretched his hands out towards mine urging me to take them. I placed my hands in his and he pulled me up ever so gently and put his hand around my waist so that I couldn't stray too far away from him. I groaned in annoyance as he then proceeded to put my arm around his shoulders.

"Atleast let me have a little dignity Dad" I urged to him.

"Renesmee, moments ago you just doubled over in pain into your own knees because of your aching head and now you just expect that I'm going to let you waltz down to Carlisle's office by yourself? I'm sorry to disappoint you Ness but that's not going to happen" he justified.

"This is so embarrassing though" I grumbled as I blushed a very deep red into my already rosy cheeks.

"In what way? You're injured, no one expects you to pretend to be ok when you aren't. Even Emmett worries about you, despite all the laughing he does at you. It's just that you remind him exactly of your Mum and how she used to be when she was human, always hurting and injuring herself" he smiled to himself as he remembered my Mum in the earlier stages of their relationship.

Something brought him back to the present and snapped him right back into the conversation that we were having "Believe me though, this" he used his head to gesture to his arm around my waist and then back over his shoulders to where my arm lay, "could be a lot worse" he smiled.

"I highly doubt that Dad, thanks for trying to make me feel better" I said glumly.

Suddenly he had removed both his hands from my body and in the next second had lifted me so that I was cradled, like a child, against his chest.

"See it could be worse" he laughed at my horrified expression.

I was wriggling myself out of his grip and he willingly let me retreat back to his side. He couldn't contain his silent laughter anymore and now made it audible.

"Dad you have no idea how much you are annoying me right. I'm a teenager, therefore – and I can't believe I'm admitting this aloud but – I am hormonal, not to mention my recent head injury causing my extreme pain and if you want to top it all off the previously mentioned headache is the reason for my lack of sleep and thus I am also overly tired so in case my message wasn't clear enough to you the first time I said it, maybe you'll finally get it if I repeat myself, I'M NOT IN A MOOD TO BE MESSED WITH" I ended up yelling.

Dad paused for a moment and it seemed like that he was taking in what I had said, he straightened up and placed his hands where they were before he decided to make a joke with me.

"I'm sorry I was so inconsiderate of how you were feeling Nessie. Let's just go and talk to Carlisle shall we?" he said solemnly. I looked at his face and nodded in dire agreement, now that my stress levels were through the roof my patience was wearing very thin and I hated being so crabby and snappy at everyone all the time especially when my Dad was copping a lot of it, I'm sure it had to be hard on him, having a teenage daughter and her boyfriend living under the same roof. I don't give him enough credit for what he withstands. Dad chuckled to himself on hearing this and gave me an appreciative look, I smiled at him and he returned his "dazzling crooked smile" as Mum would've described it, something that she tells me she goes crazy for.

We rounded the corner of the lounge room and trekked down the overly long corridor until at the very end with stood outside Carlisle's office. Both Dad and I hesitated outside as we observed that Carlisle's door was shut, we could only assume this was because he was talking to someone. Being the busy-bodies that me and my Dad both were we listened in on the conversation, Dad obviously being able to hear more that I would be able to. It seemed that Carlisle's was talking with Jasper although by the tone of their hushed voices it appeared to be that they were arguing.

"... it seems like the only option we have Carlisle I can't think of anything else to do" Jasper was saying angrily.

"Jasper you know that Edward and Bella will never allow it under any circumstances and I honestly can't say I blame them" Carlisle breathed out, not wanting the confrontation to develop further. I had no clue what either of them were talking about, I quietened down and listened trying to get an idea of what the issue was.

"I know that Carlisle but I have exhausted all other options and this is the only one with the best outcome. Of course it doesn't help that Alice is completely blind and can't see anything but Renesmee has to be there with us when the Volturi show up" he reasoned, it sounded like he was pained by saying this as I'm sure he was.

Dad seemed to have had enough of what was being said and stormed into the room, with me right behind him.

They both stood up on our entrance and stared at us, Carlisle in shock and worry about what we had overheard and Jasper looked strained and resentful.

"Jasper you can't be serious" my Dad bellowed at him.

"Edward I don't like the idea anymore than you do but I can't see anything else that would work better. What were you planning to do with her anyway?" he exasperated.

Dad sighed and then stole a glance at me, obviously uneasy about what he was going to say as I had never heard this before.

"Go on Dad" I beckoned him.

With another reluctant sigh he continued, "I was going to hide her somewhere with Jacob and tell her if no one came back within an hour for them or if she saw smoke from where we were not matter which side may have crumbled that her and Jacob were to flee the country and keep on running. I'm not sure where they would go but Bella and I were discussing that only she could know so in the case of capture Aro would never be able to find her. If somehow we ended up victorious then Bella would be able to lead us and we could be re-united again. We would also have to take out Demetri first so that there was no way that she would be able to be tracked. I was then going to talk to you about getting some legal documents for them both. She doesn't have to be there Jasper, even if we don't survive she still can. This doesn't have to be the end for her" he finished.

My mouth was hanging wide open in shock, it took myself a couple of seconds to gather my thoughts as well as remembering how to talk to retaliate against my Dad's words.

"What? No! Dad you have to be joking. There is no way in hell I'm doing that. I agree with Jasper. I _am _going to be there with you" I challenged him and in the back of my mind I could still feel the agonizing pain coming from my head, I noted it but there was something much bigger that I had to deal with.

Dad turned away from me and glared at Jasper, "Thanks a lot Jasper, she is already strong-willed enough as it is, and now you have to go and put crazy, suicidal ideas in her head" he growled again.

"Dad, it's not Jasper's fault, don't you think I would've reacted the same way when you told me what you were planning to do later on down the track? Or where you going to keep it from me until the day of?" I asked him speculatively.

"Renesmee we are not having this discussion. You are not going to confront the Volturi with us and that's final! Now I don't want to hear another word about this come out of your mouth" Dad said, putting his foot down to my rebuttals.

I was starting to get emotional being grappled with the idea that I would have to go on living forever whilst my whole family is set to get slaughtered. No, this wasn't happening, I was not going to allow it to. Carlisle and Jasper had both quietened down after Dad's outburst at Jasper and were both listening intently on the somber conversation that me and my Dad were currently having, watching us both very carefully.

My whole expression changed from angered to melancholic as I attempted to calm down the heated argument and tell my Dad my fears, "Dad, I know you're trying to protect me and I admire you so much for that but I couldn't live without you. It would be virtually impossible to, even having Jake around. He seems like my everything but he's not and I don't mean for this to sound bad to Jake because I am deeply and madly in love with him but I couldn't survive with you, Mum, Rose, Alice, Emmett, Esme, Carlisle or Jasper. I need you to know that I'm in this one with you. Whatever the future holds we're all in it together" I said calmly.

I then got up from Carlisle's couch and began to approach my Dad and grabbing one of his hands to hold in both of mine and concentrated very hard on projecting my thoughts into his head. I know I could've just thought them but the physical contact meant a lot more to me. I thought about the times when I was younger and we all used to go out as a family and hunt, even Jake was there in the background. I paused on that memory for a moment before switching to another one, something that Seth had triggered from my memory when I last saw him, we were talking about the Volturi and the last time they had faced off and suddenly I had a flash thought pass through me, something that I had already seen numerous times before but only in my nightmares, I assumed that it was my imagination each time and Mum and Dad never thought to clear it up with me hence me not knowing about the Volturi sooner. I decided to show Dad this memory to put emphasis on what I had said previously about facing them together. The memory took its course only too easily although it was only a short one, it showed me being held by my Mum and then my whole family spaced out around us, Jake plus all of the other wolves were there also standing together as a united front. The memory cut off and I tilted my head up to look my Dad straight in the eyes.

After what seemed like an incredibly long silence he spoke, "I understand where you're coming from and you're right but, I can't bear the thought of losing you" he whispered and then looked down into his hands.

I tried to fake a smile and didn't really convict it convincingly, it didn't matter Dad could see through me anyway I don't know why I had even bothered in the first place.

"Dad you're not going to lose me, and I'm not going to lose you. You have to stay positive, there's always hope even in the darkest of situations, as long as we are all together. That's what matters most." I said.

Dad looked back up again at me, "You're so much like your mother you have no idea" he smiled and chuckled.

I began laughing with him too until the stabbing pain reared its ugly head again. It seems that it didn't like being ignored and if it did it seemed to get worst by the second. My laughter got cut short and was replaced by a cry of agony. Both my hands flew to my forehead, clutching it as I doubled over in pain, my head literally felt like it was on fire.

"Carlisle" my Dad called anxiously.

And with that Jasper had whipped me up into his arms and onto the makeshift bed-slash-lounge in Carlisle's office.

I curled up in a ball and Carlisle grabbed at my wrist, checking my pulse. Dad and Jasper also tried to straighten me out. I resisted at first but it was only a matter of time before they won as their brute strength was no match for a little hybrid like me. My Dad was then at my side soothing me and holding my hand while Jasper went behind the desk and retrieved Carlisle's medical bag.

"Renesmee, is it only your head where you're feeling the pain?" Carlisle asked, remaining calm through it all.

I nodded, I was in too much pain to speak, he removed my hands from my head and pulled up my bandage that had been covering my stitches to peer in and have a look at it.

"Well nothing seems to be infected, which is good" he mumbled aloud, he then continued to remove the gauze underneath it and replace it with another sheet of gauze and a bandage patch over the top. He then proceeded with his evaluation.

"And when did you begin to feel it hurting again last?" he asked again, making an assessment of my condition now that I had seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"Last night, I tried to take something for it but it didn't help so I spent the night on Rose's lap because her cold hand seemed to numb it a bit but the pain has gotten worse this morning" I groaned.

"That's the reason we came down here, we wanted to talk to you about some pain relief, I wasn't too keen on her having more morphine but seeing her in this much pain I suppose you should give it to her, I can't stand to see her like this" Dad explained.

"With the minute dosages I've been giving to her, I can assure you that she won't be having any trouble" Carlisle reassured Dad as he pulled a syringe from his bag and injected it straight into the fork of my arm. I could feel the moment the morphine had entered my blood stream and almost instantly I could feel the effect of the pain killer taking its course as my whole body relaxed and all the tension dematerialize.

"How do you feel now?" Carlisle asked me after a couple of moments had passed.

"Much better" I smiled and sat up slowly, my Dad watching every move I made, and kissed Carlisle on the cheek, "Thanks so much".

"The pleasure is all mine Renesmee, I'm glad you're feeling better. Now the dosage I gave you probably won't make you fatigued but I think it would be a good idea if you had a relaxed day and didn't do anything too strenuous" he lectured me.

I was about to answer him with lots of reassurance when someone called out from the bottom of the stairs.

"Renesmee?" a deep, gruff voice beckoned.

I smiled, the only reaction that I had every time he called my name, "In Carlisle's office" I yelled out in response. I could then hear him shuffling of his feet and then he appeared in the doorway. I was glad I was sitting down otherwise I would've had to because there was Jake in all his glory standing a few feet away from me with nothing but his boxer shorts on. It was evident that he had just gotten up, he looked disorientated and very sleepy. I must've died and gone to heaven because no one could ever look that good. I was breath taken and slowly took in all his too perfect features, especially his body the sculpted planes giving his torso excellent structure. I saved his face for last, his smile got me every time and would make me internally melt, the same effect that my Dad had on my Mum. I got up by myself after a wear glance from my Dad and meandered my way over to him. He outstretched his arms and pulled me into his hold and for a moment I completely forgot everything, even my own name. He pulled away from the hug and bowed his head so that he could reach my lips and kissed me sweetly, probably a good option to go with seeing as my Dad, uncle and grandfather were right behind me. He stopped after a good couple of seconds but didn't move his head back. He placed his hands around my waist, holding me close to him and stared directly into my eyes.

"Good morning" he whispered serenely.

I smiled stupidly at him and wished I had been a little more suave but that just wasn't who I was and that's what Jake loved the most. My awkward, goofy side, the rarely showed up for anyone but him.

I pulled myself back to the present abruptly, "Bye Dad, Jasper and thanks Carlisle for my head and Dad" I turned to him, Jake still had his arms around me, "we _will_ talk later won't we" I told him rather than asking.

He acknowledged me and then rolled his eyes at me as I pushed Jake out the door. We began walking down the corridor and through the lounge room, first stop on Jake's agenda. The kitchen. Esme was in there with my Mum and Emmett.

"Hey squirt" Emmett said as he tussled my hair being extra careful not to go anywhere remotely near my stitches or my bandage.

I smiled back at him and Jake let me go to take his seat at the bench. I went over and hugged Esme.

"How are you feeling this morning sweetie" she said as she noted the replaced bandage on my forehead.

"Much better, thanks for asking. Where were you guys before? I didn't notice you around when I got up" I said, making small talk.

My Mum groaned theatrically, "Alice and Rosalie insisted on taking us shopping, it was a nightmare" she laughed without humour.

"You think you had it bad? I was the one who had to haul all of the bags back to the car" Emmett interjected before giving up and walking over to Jake and talking about some game, other than ours, that had been on last night.

Esme had already began on Jake's breakfast, she had offered me some but I had declined I didn't feel hungry after the morphine. Soon the smell of bacon and eggs had filled the room wafting into others soon after that, I thought I heard Jasper gag.

I laughed, "Where are the other two?" asking Mum.

"Esme, Emmett and me gave up and told them we'd had enough. I don't think Alice is too happy with us at all" she answered, before laughing again.

Esme joined in the laughter, "Oh well. I'm sure she'll get over it soon enough. I'm pretty sure that won't be the last of her shopping trips" she ended.

"What were you getting anyway?" I questioned.

"Well we started out with just the usual replacement clothes for Jake and then she decided we could all do with a new wardrobe. I swear to god we spent hours in the men's department watching Emmett try on numerous items. That was probably my highlight of the morning" Mum

giggled.

"Yeah for you maybe, I'm just glad that's over and I won't have to endure that ever again" Emmett said, turning his attention away from Jake for just a moment while he gave us his opinion.

"Wishful thinking Emmett, wishful thinking" I broke the news to him but I don't think he heard, he was already absorbed back into the conversation with Jake.

"So what else are Alice and Rosalie getting, they would've been up there for hours already. What else could they possibly need to do?" I said questioning my crazy Aunt's and their shopping problems.

Esme and Mum stole a quick glance in between them, Mum looked a bit hesitant and reluctant to tell me.

"What?" I said, slightly worried.

"Well Alice thought she should just get a head start on shopping that's all" Mum assured me but by the tone of her voice I could tell there was something else, maybe a double meaning behind it. Esme turned around from the stove and plated up Jake's breakfast before serving it to him, he began wolfing it down – no pun intended – and then she turned back around to where me and Mum were having our conversation, so obviously Esme knew what was going on as well.

"For next season?" I asked vacuously.

"Not exactly" Mum peeped and I knew I was getting close to knowing exactly what she seemed so hesitant on telling me.

"Well what then?"

"The wedding" she mumbled quietly but I heard loud and clear as if she had yelled it, Jake obviously did too as he began to choke on the bacon strip he was eating. Emmett had to slap him across the back a couple of times before he recovered.

"What?" I practically screeched.

Emmett couldn't stop booming with laughter at both Jake and mine's response.

"See I knew you were going to react this way" Mum admitted, half scolding herself for telling me as Esme went over to reassure her.

"Mum, I'm not angry at you don't worry. I'm furious at Alice" I vented.

"No you can't tell her I told you, I promised I wouldn't say a thing, she wanted it to be a surprise" Mum worried.

"I'm sorry Mum but I've probably blown your cover already, I've been plotting out ways that I can get back at her" I apologised.

"Oh no, now I'm going to have to face the angry wrath of Alice" Mum said in mock-horror, lightening up abit after her fretful outburst.

"You know Alice, Renesmee, she tends to go overboard with things but we are pressed for time" Esme began.

"How? We haven't even set a date yet? I didn't even tell her she could plan it and seeing as she can't see the future because me and Jake are both concerned how could she have known?" My questions kept on rambling off.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry if what I'm about to say is going to distress you but we only have a little over 4 weeks to do it" Esme finished as she then rounded the stove to come and give me a hug, sensing that it would indeed upset me.

"Oh, I guess I never thought of that" I pondered emotionless, mostly to myself, "Well I guess I'm lucky that I have erratic Aunt's like Alice and Rose to help me".

"Who knew that Alice's shopping problem would become useful?" Esme tinkled with her bell-like laughter.

Jake, who had finished the breakfast that Esme had made for him, pushed himself out from the bench and made his way around it,coming up from behind me and putting his arms around my waist and nestled his nose in the crook of my neck sometimes swapping his nose for his mouth and kissing me ever so gently. It seemed like we had been standing there forever when he finally spoke.

"I have a surprise for you" he whispered. His hot breath tickling my neck, making the hairs stand up.

I turned around, still in his hold, to face him, smiling profusely as I spoke, "I'm intrigued and slightly worried at the same time."

His laugh was deep and throaty, "You should be intrigued, but just be a good girl and come with me".

"Nothing too extreme Jake, she's still recovering" Mum's worried voice hovered.

"Where are we going" I ignored my Mum and asked as he began to push me out the kitchen.

"You're not very good at this are you? It would ruin your surprise if I told you where we were going now come on" he laughed, heading for the front door.

"Ah, Jake?" I called him.

"What?" he snapped unintentionally.

"You might wanna put some clothes on before we go anywhere" I suggested.

He stared at me confused, before looking down at himself and realising that he was still only wearing his boxers. He blushed a deep red, "I'll be back real soon. Don't move!" he yelled, already half-way up the stairs.

While he was getting changed I stared down at my own clothes and realised I had slept in the same ones since yesterday. This made me contemplate getting changed and seeing as I didn't know where Jake was taking me it was starting to look like a very good idea.

"Jake?" I yelled vacantly up the stairs.

"What?" he yelled back.

"Do I need to get changed as well?" I asked, waiting for his response. Nothing.

About thirty seconds later Jake appeared at the top of the stairs and casually made his way down towards me. After appraising me up and down he looked up into my eyes.

"Nope. You look perfect" he smiled and laughed.

I rolled my eyes at him, not even bothering to start something on that. I laced my fingers with his and we began our exit of the house.

We were about to begin our descent down our front porch steps when Jake stopped suddenly and pulled me to a halt beside him.

"Oh wait, I almost forget. You have to put this on" he said and outstretched his hand towards mine, urging me to take something. I opened my hand and a piece of material glided through the air and touched down on my palm. I stared at him confused.

"It's a blindfold stupid" he laughed.

I was about to argue when he took the material back from me, spun me around and whipped it quickly over my eyes, tying it tightly at the back of my head. Everything was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing.

"Now how many fingers am I holding up" he asked my, his voice now in front of me.

"Jake, this is ridiculous, can't I just close my eyes?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Of course not. How do I know you're not going to sneak a peek" he sounded shocked that I had even asked the question.

"You're just going to have to trust me" I smiled, lightly hinting on a previous argument where I had said we needed trust.

"I do trust you, just not about this" he laughed, "now take my hand and come with me or would you rather I carry you?" he said as he grabbed my hand from my side.

"Hmmm, that all depends on whether you're going wolf or staying human" I laughed, he knew that I loved riding on his back in wolf form while he ran, it was the most invigorating feeling in the world. The wind in my hair and the breeze on my face, nestled in against his soft fur it was so cliché yet such a perfect and ideal concept to me.

"Sorry to disappoint you babe but it's only a 5 minute walk and it sets the mood anyway" he told me, he sounded like a child on christmas morning just before he was about to open all his presents. I could tell he just wanted to go already.

"How can it set the mood? I can't see a thing" I asked incredulously.

"You'll see, you'll see. Now come on stop stalling let's go" he had grown impatient. He took my hand less urgently than before and cradled it to his chest while his other arm wound tightly around my waist, like a boa constricta, and he began to lead me down the stairs. I could feel every time he went down a step and his body jolted against mine. His body then strayed from mine although he kept his hand wrapped tightly around mine, I guess he was just changing direction or his incompetence for patience made him want me to move faster. We walked in silence for a while, at a slow walking pace – by human standards – happy to enjoy the bliss of nature and its inhabitants.

"So ..." he began, uncomfortable with the silence, "How about that Alice" he laughed nervously to himself.

I groaned instantly once I remembered what my Aunt had done, "I am literally going to dismember her when we get back".

Jake laughed loud at that one, "She's only trying to be helpful Ness" he slowed his long strides to match my pace.

"Yes I know she is, I just wish she didn't thrust it upon everyone and interrupt their lives. It's not like it's going to be a massive event anyway" I reasoned.

"You do know this is Alice we're talking about right?" he said, questioning my sanity and reasoning.

"I know but I just want this to be about us, I don't want a whole whizz bang production because that isn't what matters" I vented.

"Do you remember the all stories of your Mum and Dad's wedding? Alice conned your Mum into letting her take control" Jake laughed.

"But that's where me and my Mum are different, thank goodness. I'm more strong willed, especially when it comes to Alice, let's face it I have most of you in the palm of my hand. I didn't think to ask you if you had any ideas of what you wanted it to be?" I turned my question onto him, not realising I didn't know what he wanted.

"I just want whatever makes you happy, although I was kind of hoping that the pack would all come up. I was also thinking how we probably couldn't have anyone from around here legally marry us because they're under the impression we're both too young to wed, so I was thinking that we could get Kyle to come up with Leah as well, turns out Kyle's dad is a minister, he could do the ceremony if you wanted? We'd have to get Jasper onto documents of course" Jake suggested softly, not wanting to impose on me.

"Well, I don't mind at all but we're probably going to have to run it by the devil herself. Do you think Kyle's Dad would mind though, Alice would probably gore him with details of how she wanted everything to be. I love Alice to death and I always will but sometimes Alice takes things overboard or completely takes over them" I confided.

"Would you rather go through the stresses of wedding planning would you?" he joked with me, knowing full well I would rather face the Volturi alone. This sudden memory sparked a train of thought that went flying around in my mind. We walked abit more before before I decided to share them with Jake.

"I'm not ready for this" I whispered.

Jake pulled us both to a stop and I realised then that that probably wasn't the best way to start if off, "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I'll break the news to Alice, she'll be devastated but I don't want you doing anything you don't feel comfortable. I can wait for you forever, I don't want you to feel pressured I promised both of your parents when you were born that this would be your choice. You don't have to marry me, we can cancel the wedding" Jake assured me.

"What? What are you talking about? Of course I don't want to cancel the wedding, that's all I want to do is marry you. It's just talking about the wedding being in little under 4 weeks makes it set in that the Volturi are coming sooner. I'm just not ready for all of this, it's so overwhelming" I began, leaning into his side to try and ease him that I was not going back on my word to marry him.

"Renesmee" he said seriously, " you shouldn't be afraid, we have each other to live for and we need to celebrate what time we have left, however long or short it might be. We still need to remain optimistic though, things can and do happen, how do we know fate won't work in our favour?" Jake mediated me.

"I know but I can't help it, I'm scared about not knowing and the uncertainty and I just feel really uneasy about it but I know you're right I should be happy, I'm getting married to my high school sweetheart and I couldn't be happier about that –" I said before Jake cut me off.

"Ness, we're here" he notified me gently.

I felt a wave of excitement and anticipation rush through me as he released his grip on my hand and waist and moved his hands to untie the knot of the blindfold.

"Ready?" he asked, stalling to annoy me, he knew my patience was well under developed.

"Hurry up I think I'm going to explode if I'm kept in suspense any longer" I growled at him while he laughed at my helplessness.

"Ok 1... 2 ...3" he counted and then he loosened his grip on the blindfold and the material gracefully gilded to the forest floor. I opened my eyes and waited for them to focus the light before I could see exactly what my surprise was. I gasped as soon as I could see.

"Oh My God Jake, you did all of this?" I asked in sheer amazement as I took in the enticing scene infront of me.

**A/N: Minor cliffy but I had planned this to be alot longer but decided to split it into 2 so please don't hate me too much. Anyone reckon they have an idea of what the surprise was?**

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	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry guys this is the same CHAPTER but I was just reading over it when I realised some of it didn't make sense and I needed to fix it in order to be true to the plot. I love you all for sticking with me and thank you to all the people for their kind words, it was much appreciated going through this hard time. It does get easier with time and so I dedicate this chapter to my Nan, I know she's looking down on me right now and smiling. I love you.**

_Chapter 13_

My jaw hung open as my eyes continued to scanned what was in front of me. Jake had lead me into the forest and had found a small circular clearing surrounded in the midst of all the trees. On the forest floor was a soft, red and white checked blanket and a traditional thatched wooden picnic basket all set up but that wasn't it, there was more, normally the floor would be covered with twigs and leaves right? Wrong, underneath my feet were millions of rose petals, white, red and pink in all different shades covering the small, intimate area. I slowly turned around, continuing my assessment of the wonderful surprise that my completely perfect fiance had given me. Something that only just caught my attention were the small twinkle lights that had been wrapped around the trees in the closest vicinity to us making it more enclosed and private. It was twilight and the whole scene looked that much more romantic, more enticing, as it illuminated the little clearing in a ominous sort of way. It looked like something out of the movies, or literature, something that didn't exist in reality, which sort of fitted us perfectly because neither me or part of him should exist.

Once I had done a complete 360 I stood there, in awe and shock, not really contemplating that this was really happening and that Jake had actually done this. I stood like this, my mouth still hung slack like an idiot, tears now developing in the corner of my eyes for another couple of minutes really wanting to take in and appreciate the effort he had gone to.

"So ... what do you think?" a timid voice asked from behind me.

I quickly spun around, I had forgotten he was there for a moment, too taken and held up in the surprise. He saw the tears and mistook them for something else.

His face dropped a little bit he tried so hard not to so that I wouldn't notice, "I didn't mean to upset you, if it's too much for you we can go back to the house."

I stared at him for an eight of a second, dumbfounded that he would even think I wouldn't be anything less than thrilled with what he had done for me and then smiled and ran over to him. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into me, caressing his cheek first I lingered to his mouth where my passionate side took over, crushing his lips to mine again and again I quickly wound my arms around his neck, not wanting any space to be in between us, the force of the imprint that lay deep inside me was pushing my body closer and closer to his until it was not possible to fit any more together. He responded the same way, caught up in the emotion, straining his neck down to reach my incredibly small stature he put both of his masculine hands on waist grasping it and then hoisting me up so that our faces were now level. He was being ever so gentle as to not even go near my forehead and the region where my bandage was. The kiss deepened, slowing but doubling in the intensity and desire that both of us held for each other, grabbing his bottom lip gently between mine, I pulled away a little dragging it with me, yearning for more he quickly followed and resumed what we had originally been doing. An explosion of total peace and serenity overwhelmed us both. The true meaning of life, our love and the sheer wonder on both our faces, hoping that we could just forget about everything in our future and stay in this present moment of pure bliss. Knowing that for both of us, this might be the last time we had together - alone - the last time to prove our melancholy love, so strong and so deep, yet so sad to never want to let go of each other.

He slowly then began to put both my feet back on the floor and as the distance between our faces grew I steadily let our heads drift apart naturally and once my feet were firmly placed on the ground again I placed my head against his chest and listened to the insane pace at which his heart was beating, although I had no doubt that mine was doing double what his was. I felt like that was the first time he had really kissed me, for I guess it was, the first time we had kissed since I'd found out I was his imprint the one he was meant to be with, the first real time we had kissed since we had become engaged and the first real time we had kissed forgetting what was going on around us and what was to come. That kiss had been the first true expression of how we really felt about each other. It had left me wanting for more, he had made me felt like I was the most appreciated person on the planet, it felt as though time had stopped and for those couple of moments no one else mattered. At that precise moment we had become a part of each other, a moment full of bursting passion.

I looked up at him and stared deeply and intently into his eyes, smiling "How could you think that I wouldn't like this, it's amazing. I didn't think it was possible but I think you've made me fall deeper in love with you."

He just looked back at me and laughed, "Renesmee, how much morphine did Carlisle give you? I think your delusional."

I slapped his arm jokingly, "Jake you just completely ruined the moment, what may have just been the very best kiss of my life and you go and do that" I groaned.

He laughed again at me and staring at his perfect face and watching him chuckle like that it was nearly impossible to resist joining in with him.

"I'm sorry," he said between laughs, "Come on, how about we sit down" he said as he took my hand is his and pulled me over to where the basket and blanket were both laid out. I could feel the squish of the petals beneath my feet and the angelic fragrance that they expelled shortly after, the area was soon overwhelmed with the smell of rose petals and it was just perfect.

Once we were standing next to the blanket he went over behind the basket and pulled out two cushions for us to sit on. He then returned to my side and lead me over to the blanket where he helped me sit down and then situated his place beside me. He then proceeded to open the basket and pulled out two champagne flutes.

I gasped when I saw them, "Jake, are you insane? My Dad will literally kill you if he finds out you served me alcohol. He's still maintains the view that I am technically 8 years old."

He didn't say anything but look at me and laughed, I stared at him with a puzzled expression on my face whilst he dug around the basket until he pulled out something else. A bottle of sparkling water.

"Renesmee, do you honestly think that low of me?" he asked, mocking offense.

I smiled as he then poured the contents of the bottle into our glasses, offering the first to me, "Thirsty?" he asked me.

I smiled and took it, my face however dropped slightly, feeling guilty about what I was about to say. "Yes but for something else though, I know you've made an incredible basket full of food and I feel really bad but I feel exhausted and I haven't hunted in so long, since I was in Forks with Seth and it wasn't even really a hunt. Do you think that maybe after this we could go?" as soon as I had finished talking I almost instantly regretted it, the look on his face was disappointment.

"Yeah, let's go hunting after" he said half-hearted.

I scooted over next to him and placed my hand on his cheek, beckoning him to look up at me. I sighed heavily, "Jake, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking before and I think I'm a little out of it with the pain relief. Can you please just look at me?"

He was still looking down and nervously playing with his fingers for a couple more seconds before he slowly and reluctantly inclined his head.

"I'm sorry if I disappointed you, it wasn't my intentions, you know that. Please forgive me? Show me what you had installed for me?" I asked him, hoping to make things right again.

"Renesmee, I'm not going to force this food down your throat, anyway the food isn't the main thing here. I just wanted to create something that would take your mind off things for a while, I'm not disappointed and there is nothing to forgive you for although judging from that kiss earlier you've been holding out on me" he laughed, making me instantly feel better after ruining his plans for the picnic.

"Jake, I can't exactly give you everything when my mind reading father, incredibly strong uncle or future predicting aunty are in the next room" he started chuckling at that, " and I am really sorry about ruining this aspect of the date, which might I add is unbelievable! How did you come up with this? How did you do all of it?" I asked in amazement, the questions continually rambling out of my mouth.

"Well I have to admit right now I didn't really do it all by myself, I had some help" he admitted.

"Let me guess, Alice? I think the twinkle lights are a signature thing" I guessed.

"Well Alice gave me the idea but I put everything together and did everything else" he defended himself, trying to take as much credit for this as he could.

"You cooked? Since when do you know how to cook?" I asked skeptically.

"Oh right forgot about that, no I didn't cook and lucky for you I might add, Esme helped with that" he confessed.

"You have to remind me to thank them when I get back for giving me the most perfect night of my entire li-" my sentence was cut short by another stabbing pain coming from my head, I didn't scream though just stopped suddenly with a sharp intake of breath. I groaned and hunched over a little, I thought that my head wasn't going to give me any more trouble and here it goes again, setting out to ruin my night. Jacob heard me stop and then groan, freaking out immediately.

"Renesmee!? What's wrong? What is it?" Jake quizzed me, looking over me to see if he could figure out what the problem was.

I slowly composed myself as the stinging pain continued to come and go, "Nothing, I'm fine, my head is just starting to give me a little trouble again, no biggie."

"Do you wanna go back to the house and talk to Carlisle?" Jake asked concerned.

"NO! I don't want to leave here, I just want to stay with you for a while alright?" I conveyed to him.

He looked at me appraisingly before giving in, "Ok but the moment you even look remotely unwell I'm taking you back alright? Now here," he grabbed the pillow he was sitting on and placed it on his lap, "lie down, just so I can have peace of mind that you aren't going to faint on me .... again" he smiled and motioned for me to lie down.

I grumbled but didn't put up a fight because in the end he would always win, no matter what I did to defy him. He helped lower my body down until my head felt the soft cushion underneath it. I looked up at him, laughing, the sun was directly behind his head and made it appear as though he had some kind of halo, making me feel as though I was dreaming.

"Do I get to hear what's so funny?" he inquired.

"The sun, its giving you a halo" I laughed again and moments later he joined in with his chuckle.

"Nature doesn't lie."

"Whatever you say Jake" I giggled while staring up into his somewhat angelic face, I wasn't going to admit that to him though. As if he needed his head any bigger. We both enjoyed the silence and serenity for a little while longer, giving me time to think things through before I spoke again, expressing them to Jake.

"Back at the house, Esme got me thinking, have you thought anymore about the wedding?" I asked changing the subject off Jake's vanity.

His face changed from blank to in thought, "Not really, as long as your happy I'm happy" he told me.

"Correction: As long as Alice is happy, everyone's happy" I amended.

He chuckled, "Yeah, that's true although I don't think she'll be able to sway you as much as she did with Bella though."

"It wasn't my fault that my Mum was too afraid of Alice to stand up to her. She got to do her big, over the top, ostentatious wedding with Mum so I think we should make her see it as a personal challenge. I want something small but personal at the same time, I'm really into fairy tales at the moment too, I want it to be magical! I know it sounds so cliche but that's what I really want" I told him, I had been thinking about it more and more lately, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted the day to be.

"Well, I agree about the small bit, there will be about twenty people there anyway. We're only inviting family and the pack right? I mean I think we've officially dropped out of high school now anyway, not that we really had friends here anyway" he agreed and reasoned a bit more.

"Wait Jake, I think there is going to be a bit more than twenty people there, I at least want Britt to be there, I mean after all she kinda is the reason we are together, I don't care if she's human, she is one of the best friends I've ever had and she's been so good to me, I feel bad though lately it's as if I've forgotten her altogether and as far as she knows we've all disappeared off the face of the earth! Sometimes I just wish that this life was easier when it came to relationships with humans" I groaned.

"Well, if you want her to be there she will, we can find a way around it. So, what does that bring the guest list to?" Jake asked.

"Well there is all of my family of course which is eight and then Charlie and Sue, Seth, Leah, Kyle and Kyle's Dad, Sam and Emily, of course baby Liam, Billy, Rachel and Paul, Jared and Kim, Quil and Claire. Did you want Rebecca there?" I asked about his other sister, of whom he hadn't seen since before I was born.

"I hadn't really thought about her. I don't really mind either way, although she hasn't shown much interest in my life I doubt she would start now" he vented, I sensed some hostility from him, towards the sister he rarely ever talked about.

"Jake you can't say that, she's your sister! Look, how about we send her an invitation and let her make the call. I know it would make your Dad happy to see you all together again" I tried to reason with him.

"We'll see ... so is that it for the guest list? It's pretty hefty, I don't have to invite the whole wolf pack you know" he said, reluctantly, hoping that I would disagree.

"Of course you do! They're your family Jake, do you know how offended they would be if you didn't? Just because I said I wanted a small wedding didn't mean we had to exclude people. It doesn't matter to me as to the amount of people more that it's our closest friends and family" I explained to him.

He smiled on hearing this, "Aren't there a few more bloods-, I mean, vampires that you want to invite?"

"Jake" I complained, unhappy that he was about to refer to my close family friends as blood-suckers.

"I know I'm sorry, it's a habit though and you have to admit, I have been doing exceptionally well the past couple of weeks" he noted.

"Could your head get any bigger?" I asked rhetorically.

"Are you talking to me? I don't think so" he mocked offense.

I playfully slapped his arm, "You're the biggest idiot I have ever met," I laughed stupidly with him as he quickly ducked his head to nip me on the nose.

"Just remember you're the idiot who agreed to marry me" he came back with.

"Well I guess we can be idiots together, now come down here" I said as I stretched my arms to wind around his neck and pull his face down to me. He sweetly pressed his lips to mine in a much more innocent kiss than the previous.

He then leant back up to his sitting position, "So back to what we were discussing, were there any other vampires you wanted at the ceremony?" he said getting back on track.

"Oh yeah, my Mum and Dad will probably want to invite Kachiri and her sister Senna plus I haven't seen them since I was younger, although I don't know how they'll feel about coming now, knowing that they're sister is going to kill me next month" I said blatantly.

"Renesmee, please. Let's not do this now" Jake said sincerely not wanting what the future to ruin our day.

"So who else is there?" he asked trying to get back on track.

"Well, there's all our cousins up in Denali who I also have not seen in a while but then again with Kate on the Volturi's side who knows" I said, how could we ask them to fight against their own sister, surely they wouldn't do it.

"Let's try and not let that whole issue ruin everything for us please?" Jake asked solemnly.

"So now we are looking at roughly thirty-three on the guest list, that's small enough for you?" he chuckled as he asked, diverting the conversation away from the direction in which it was heading fast.

"Wow Jake" I said in astonishment.

"I know, you're so impressed that I was able to add that up so quickly" he said, once again big noting himself.

"No, surprised that you can even count that high!" I joked.

Just then, my head was free-falling for a split half second before it hit Jake's legs once again, he had slyly pulled the pillow out from underneath my head.

"Ouch, Jake" I said, half-laughing.

"That just goes to show you to remember to never insult the person who you are lying on" he retorted.

"Ok, I get it just put the pillow back already, my head's feeling a bit weird all of a sudden" I feigned.

Almost instantly the pillow was back underneath my head and his hand was stroking my cheek soothingly.

"Do we need to go back to the house, answer honestly" he asked of me.

"No Jake, I'm fine, sometimes it's fun to see how worked up and overreactive you get when it comes to me" I responded cheekily.

"Don't do that again, it's not funny" he said, half-serious.

"I love you, you know that right?" I asked, completely disregarding what he had just said.

"I had a feeling you felt that way, but you know I feel exactly the same way, if not more, about you. You truly are my everything, my life" he said, getting all sappy.

"Jake, I may have to confiscate your man card for that one on behalf of Emmett," I joked once again.

"Don't you dare tell Emmett" he laughed and then nudged my ribs gently. He knew that was my weak spot and where I was the most ticklish. He jabbed me a few more times before I begged him to stop.

"Ok, I surrender, I won't tell him, just please stop tickling me, I'm going to die" I breathed out in between gasps for air and laughing uncontrollably.

"Good, because you know, there is plenty more where that came from if you do decide to tell him" he warned me.

He then leant down and pressed his lips to mine, more solemnly and sweetly, lingering a little longer he moved to my ear.

"I love you" he whispered.

I smiled radiantly and kissed him back before we both leant back and enjoyed the silence for quite a while. I had no idea what he as thinking about, the wedding I guess, because that was what we'd just been talking about but he seemed quite content to stay in the tranquility as I was. He train of thought must have been really far away from here because his handed lifted subconsciously and started to stroke my cheek again, he must be thinking of something to do with me. I stared up directly about me at the sky being broken up by both the clouds and fractured by the tall overcoming tree tops. My thought processes changed from mindless nothing to Jake and I, and the bringing up of Britt over the discussion of wedding guests had prompted the thought of how exactly we got to being at our current state.

"What are you thinking about?" Jake asked after what seemed to be hours of silence.

"Just how we first started going out" I muttered back to him, still caught up in my reminiscence of the days.

"Oh, I remember that like it was yesterday, one of the best days of my life, definitely in the top ten" he smiled and then smirked.

"What?" I inquired, having no idea as to what was so funny.

"Nothing just remind me to mention my top ten best days of my life around your Dad, ok" he laughed again.

"If it's going to stir him up, you've got no chance of me doing that, do you know how much it took for him to even agree to this wedding?" I said, not wanting to give Dad another reason to hate Jake.

"Oh come on, it will be a little fun, and besides it's just a little payback" Jake argued playfully. I didn't answer him and let my mind wander to the past.

Jake was right though, it was one of the best days of my life too. It happened about a year and a half ago when Mum and Dad had finally let me go to school with them as the aging process had began to decrease in pace. At that point in my life, Jake was my best friend but I had recently begun getting stronger feelings towards him. My best friend, outside of the family which believe me was nice in its own, Britt was the only one who I confided to about these feelings and I never thought about them around my Dad because I didn't want anyone else to know. It was that one day that changed my life. The one day I made the life-altering decision. The day I told Jake how I really felt about him.

* * *

It was Friday, finally, and I was heading to my final lesson of the day, Ancient History (mrs penny-feather), with Brittany my first real friend since I had began schooling. It was this girl who had gone out of her way to befriend me on my first day of Spoons Junior High School. The only lesson I didn't have with any member of my family was Ancient History and she came and sat next to me, embracing me instead of the usual stare and cold shoulder - no pun intended- we Cullen's got.

If you knew about the vampire world, Britt would totally fit into it; besides the fact of not having the eyes, agility and strength, she had pale white skin and her touch was always ice cold, something we often laughed about. She would also have to be one of the most gorgeous people I have ever met, including Rosalie. Her brown wavy hair, which looked immaculate everyday, flowed past her shoulders and framed her face most elegantly, she had piercing blue eyes, a stand-out feature on her angelic face, a small button nose, perfect straight teeth only adding to her already gorgeous face. She was incredible smart and had a great personality too, bright and bubbly, making her easily relatable, even for a half vampire. She had the ability to light up a whole room just by walking into it, she was fun and outgoing, willing to try anything, something that made me think that she would be able to handle my secret although I never dared to actually tell her, so she knew about as much as everyone else did in the school about the Cullen's. She also had little quirks to her, like the fact that her feet completely freaked me out, her second toe was longer than her big toe and her pinky looked like it belonged to a different foot, she would laugh it off and dangle it in my face anytime I mentioned it. If I had been able to create the perfect person to be my friend, Britt would've been the end result.

She was a god-send for me as most recently I had discovered something. I had fallen in love with my best friend. Jacob. And there was no way in the world that I was going to talk, let alone admit it to my Mum or anyone else in my family for that matter. It took up most of my will power not to think about it when I was at home so that there was no way that my Dad would hear about it. I needed a friend to talk to it about and Britt was the person whom I talked with. She was fully supportive about it, giving me probably the best advice anyone could. She always would tell me that I needed to go for it, and not worry about what he might say, that I had to be true to myself or that one day it might be too late and he might find someone else and I will regret a lot of things. She had been coaxing me for weeks now to tell Jake how I really felt about him, although I'm sure he already knew. Every time he was around me or even touched me my heart would start hammering out of my chest, something I'm sure that he would've been able to hear, not that I could exactly tell Britt that.

So we were walking down the hall the Ancient History, it was going to be another boring lesson I could just tell, our teacher had no idea what she was talking about and would only hand out sheet after sheet of information without actually teaching us anything. The only reason I was topping the class was because I had people at home who could tell me first hand accounts of what actually went on with the 1918 Spanish Influenza. Britt and I both walked into the classroom side by side and resumed our usual seats at the back of the classroom. I was already bored and just edging to get home, Jake was taking me to the beach this afternoon. I slumped into my seat and put my head on the desk, waiting for our no-brained teacher to arrive.

Moments later Britt exclaimed a whispered, "Yes!" and got my attention.

I looked up to see what she was referring to when I noticed that the teacher that was at the front of the class was not Mrs Boss.

"Alright, your teacher is ill today so I'll be taking your class for this afternoon. My name is Mrs Penny-Feather and for this afternoon's lesson your teacher has set you textbook work so please just get it done and what you don't finish will be for homework. Are we clear?" she clarified, getting straight to the point.

Yes, a substitute teacher, that was exactly what I needed, I know I'd have to do some work first but then I could just talk to Britt the whole lesson. So we both began to work in silence with the whole class for about twenty minutes, once I had completed most of the set work I stopped, put it aside and let my mind wander. Thinking about Jake and me and this afternoon was toying over and over in my head, making me more nervous by the second. I was playing with my necklace that my Mum had gotten me for my first Christmas when Britt started talking to me.

"Ok, spill, what's got you so anxious" she said plainly.

"What? What makes you think I'm anxious?" I asked in confusion.

"Every time you feel anxious, nervous or scared you immediately begin to play with your locket" she explained.

"Oh, you're the first person to have ever pointed that out to me" I said, wondering how long I'd been doing it for, I guess I don't really give it a second thought when my Dad can read exactly what is going through my head.

"Yeah, yeah" she said brushing off what I had just said, "So what's up? Does this have anything to do with the ongoing Jake saga" she predicted.

I sighed, "Of course it does! It's only the single thing I think all day, I'm really confused Britt, he's taking me to the beach this afternoon, I don't know how I'm going to be around him" I confided in her.

"Don't you see Ness? This is the perfect opportunity for you to tell him how you really feel, you have him all alone with none of your family could ever interrupt you!" she reasoned as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't know Britt, I'm scared, what if he doesn't feel the same way and it completely ruins our friendship?" I admitted.

"You'll never know if you don't try but what if he does feel the same way and you never say a thing. You need to learn to just go for it" she tried to persuade me and I have to admit it was kind of working.

"I don't know" I stated confused, what if this ruined everything?

"Ness, trust me, I know he feels the same way about you. I've seen the way he looks at you and its not the way I look and you there's something more in his eyes, trust me" she was persistent, I'd give her that.

"Ok, I'll tell him this afternoon" I breathed out, unsure if I would carry out what I had just agreed to do.

"You won't regret doing this, and just remember to thank me after your life becomes perfect" she smiled smugly.

"You mean if my life becomes perfect" I corrected her.

"Geez, you need to stop being such a pessimist, it's going to work, you just need to have a little faith" she assured me.

"What am I even going to say?" I asked, freaking out now because I had absolutely no idea about how to tell my best friend that I'm in love with him.

"That's easy just tell him how you feel about him, like what you truly feel. Remember Ness, this has been going on for months, don't you want it all to be over already? I know it's scary but think of how much better it will be out in the open" she advised.

"I think I would prefer for it not to be though, I guess it might be good to know where I stand" I conceded.

"See, deep down you know you want to tell him" she tried to convince me.

"Yeah I think you're right, I do" I smiled, now thinking of the prospects that might come out of today's actions.

The final bell sounded and once the teacher dismissed us we all packed up our bags and began making our way out of the block.

"Give me a hug for good luck" Britt said as she reached over to embrace me, "even though you won't need it" she assured me.

"Thanks, for everything, you've kept me sane throughout this whole mess and if everything this afternoon goes well thanks again" I smiled at her and hugged her again.

"Remember to call me straight after I want to know every single detail of what went on alright?" she pestered.

"Fine, ok but I really have to go, he's waiting for me at the car. We're going straight there" I told her, trying to shove her off me.

"Ok, love you" she said kissing me on the cheek.

"Love you too, now good bye" I laughed and returned her peck.

I wandered quickly out to the parking lot and searched for where he had parked the car this morning as I had my Mum and Dad drop me off. I spotted him at the door of the Guardian looked as suave as ever. My breathing hitched just a little as I recovered from the sheer look of him. How on earth was I going to tell him when I got this caught up just at the sight of him? This just keeps on looking worse and worse.

"Hey, there you are" he smiled radiantly.

"Yeah, sorry I got caught up with Britt" I explained to him, timidly.

"Ready to go?" he asked as he made his way around to the driver's side.

"Yep" I squeaked, already nervous as I got into the car.

The car ride was one of the most awkward situations of my entire life. We sat there for a few agonizing minutes before he asked me about my day, in which I replied short one-worded answers because I was so nervous thinking about how I was going to phrase things to him when we got to the beach. After a while he stopped trying and we sat in silence for the next five minutes that felt a lot like an hour. As soon as I saw the sign for Eagle Beach my heart started flying a million miles a minute. Once we found a spot and parked, he took out a blanket and we both headed down to the sand, it was a beautiful sunny day meaning my family stayed home from school today, rare for Juneau, Alaska but nevertheless we took every opportunity we could to get down to the beach. He laid out the mat and we both sat down on it, silence filled the air once again.

"Nice day today, isn't it?" Jake said awkwardly.

I breathed out, I knew this was it, it was now or never. I needed to say it now or I would never find another opportunity. It couldn't get anymore awkward right?

I took another deep breath before I spoke, "Jake will you come take a walk with me?" I asked, with my voice very high-pitched.

"Sure" he agreed but sounded confused and a bit unsure as to my intentions.

We began walking along the deserted strip of sand up the southern end of the beach, I left a few good paces before I spoke again.

"Jake I need to talk to you about something that's kind of really serious" I began with.

"You didn't get a tattoo did you?" he joked.

Trust Jake to joke at a time like this, "No, nothing like that" I laughed nervously.

We walked a little more before I stopped, grazing my arm on his beckoning him to as well.

"Look Jake, I don't really know how to lead up to this so I'm just going to come out and say it" I told him, trying to convince myself to do it.

"Ok, I'm listening" he could feel the tenseness in the air as well.

"Jake, we've been best friends for since before I can remember but lately things have changed. I don't see you as a friend anymore-"

"Renesmee, what are you saying? Look I know it's been a bit awkward these past couple of weeks but it can change, I still want to be your best friend" he interrupted me.

"Just please shut up and let me finish" I told him forcefully, waiting for his nod before I continued, here goes nothing.

I took one final deep breath in before I let it all out, "Jake I don't see you as my best friend anymore because I want it to be something more. My feelings have changed for you over the past months and I've grown up a lot. I think I'm in love with you. I just needed you to know this is how I feel and I hope this doesn't ruin what we have together" I had my head down, I couldn't bear to look him in the eyes and see the reaction that he had.

Silence. I decided to see what he thought, this was my defining moment, the moment that would make or break the rest of my life. I inclined my head ever so slowly and I came face to face with his expression for the firs time. His eyes were blank and staring at something behind me. Shock written all across his face. Oh no. Britt was wrong, he didn't feel the same way and now I had just delivered a heavy burden that he would carry for the rest of his life. Tears immediately welled up in my eyes and my only thought was get out of here. Run. I turned and began to flee from the horribly awkward and disastrous situation that I had just created when his hand caught my wrist.

"Wait, Renesmee" he said, barely audible as he pulled me back to face him grasping the top of both my arms firmly.

We stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. The nervousness began filling in my throat, I then felt him move in closer to me, he was so close I could smell his scent. Our noses touched and sparks ignited within me, my heart was hammering out of my chest so loud that I'm sure the people on the beach could hear it. My breath then became entangled with his as our lips touched for the first time, passion and desire bursting from within us both. Our mouth moved together as if they had already been doing it for years on end and I finally let my body feel how it really wanted to feel. I threw my arms around his neck and he adjusted his hands to my waist. The softness and passion were felt by both of us as we settled down and pulled away from each other.

I stared into his eyes as his smiled back down at me, "I love you" I whispered, now with confidence.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to say that" he said, beaming from ear to ear.

I returned an equally big grin and rested my head against his chest as he embraced me deeply. I listened to the pounding of his heart, figuring that his must have been doing to exact same as mine had the entire time we had been down here. Today was truly the beginning to the rest of forever. My future with Jake. Today was one of the best days of my life.

* * *

And that's how it happened. Almost over a year ago, Jake hadn't been part of my life the way I had wanted him to be and thanks to Britt it happened, we got together. I will never forget the screaming that went on that night when I was on the phone to her telling her what happened from me trying to run away to the magical first kiss. Jake's husky voice brought me back to the present.

"Did you want to go hunting now?" he asked affectionately.

"If you wouldn't mind" I replied.

"Let's go then" he smiled and slowly lowered my head and the cushion of his lap and transfered it to the blanket.

Once he got himself up, he assisted me get up by steadily raising my torso up, monitoring my face for any reaction of pain. Once I was fully vertical he grabbed my hand and pulled my into the forest running at an incredibly fast pace for being in his human form. We reached our normal hunting ground in no time and he released my hand and headed over to the forest edge again.

"I'll be right back, start without me though, I'm not eating anything today" he beckoned me to go on ahead.

I nodded at him before turning around and giving myself to my senses. My hearing picked up on rustling to the left of me, about a couple of miles, a herbivore. Must be some sort of elk. I took off in the direction when a russet wolf joined along running next to me.

"Race you" I challenged as the elk's scent registered with him too.

We both went flat out until we reached the watering hole where the elk was feeding. In our competition we had been too loud in our approach and the elk had set off on our arrival. I looked at Jake and he nodded, heading off to the other side of the elk, hot in its pursuit.

I soon caught up with him, trying to corner it into the cliff face close to the beach I had just been reminiscing about. It kept on darting to and fro trying to shake both me and Jake but as soon as I got close enough I leapt through the air and landed with precision on its back. It jerked violently trying to buck me off but before it could even sway a third time I had already grasped its reins, twisting it sharply I snapped its neck. Instant death. It seemed a lot kinder than draining it of its blood while it was still living. The imobilised creature fell to the ground and I jumped from it bracing for impact with the ground and bending my knees accordingly. Jake was panting next to me, but I turned and gave him a look. He knew I hated him watching me feed, there was just something disturbing I found about it so as soon as I looked at him he knew to go. As soon as I was sure Jake was not in the vicinity I sunk my teeth into the elk's neck and began draining it of its blood. The warm liquid trickled down my throat soothing the burning sensation instantly.

About three elk later I decided that I was content enough to say I was finished and turned back around to face the forest.

"Jake, I'm done, you can phase back" I yelled out, hearing my voice ring out throughout the forest trees.

Moments later a human Jake emerged from the bushes smiling and half naked, he took my hand and turned to the general direction of the house.

I sighed, "Alright, I guess it's time then" I said to Jake.

"Time for what?" he asked, confused.

"It's time for the daunting task of talking to Alice" I said enigmatically.

Jake just laughed and took my hand intertwining it with his as we headed back to the house after an amazing and truly magical day. Today was a fairy tale.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, hopefully it wasn't a dissapointment and please REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey guys, I know long long long time and no see but I have been working hard and I feel absolutely horrible about not updating in such a long time so to make up for being so tardy with my updates I have an 8 and a half thousand word chapter for you! Excited much?**

Chapter 15

Hand in hand we ran back to the house, me personally, trying to dawdle as much as I could. Talking to Alice about wedding preparations was not high on the list of things that I would most like to do, knowing only too well that she would want to go over the top, ostentatious and overboard, just like she had with Mum. Lucky for me I had gotten my strong will and traits in my personality like that from people like my Uncle Emmett, Jasper, Aunt Rosalie and my Dad meaning that I was not a complete push over like my Mum and if Alice got too out of line, I wouldn't be afraid to put her back in her place. After all, this was mine and Jake's day, not hers. Also, I had everyone in my family in the palm of my hand, all of them striving to make me happy. I was their pride and joy, their new source of excitement and entertainment after hundreds of years of an endless routine of familiar people and the continuous cycle of matriculation. Jake noticed my arm tense in his as we neared the house and pulled me to a halt just on the outskirts of the forest tree line.

"You alright?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I'm just really not wanting to deal with Alice," I admitted to him.

"Unfortunately for you, it's an inevitable," he laughed as I cringed at the thought.

I just really hoped I could show my authority in being able to reign her in.

"You saw how big Mum and Dad's wedding was, Jake, I don't want that. I swear if she even thinks of going there I am going to rip her apart and burn the pieces myself," I articulated, getting enraged by even the thought of a big over the top, lavish production that Alice had most probably already envisioned.

"Ease up Renesmee," he laughed, "she hasn't even began talking to us yet and I'm sure she's been warned by everyone else already not to mess with you. As if she didn't know already though, we all knew you were going to be nothing like your mother in that regards when you hit the terrible twos. Boy could you throw a tantrum!" Jake chuckled as he recalled memories from not too long ago of me at a younger age.

"The way you say that makes me sound like I'm going to be some sort of a bridezilla. Do you really think I'm that bad?" I asked endearingly, worried that he might actually half mean what he was saying.

"Relax, honey, I was only joking! Of course you are the most beautiful ... amazing ... wonderful person in the whole wide world," he reassured me, whilst planted short, sweet kisses on my lips throughout his compliment.

"And guess what?" he added on at the end.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"I'm the lucky guy that gets to spend the rest of eternity with you and I certainly wouldn't have you any other way," he grinned sheepishly as he pulled me up into his arms to plant a kiss on my cheek.

I, however, had other ideas. At the last second, I turned my head so instead of his lips meeting my cheek they in fact joined with my own and the moment instantly turned from playful and joking, to lustful and passionate. I wound my legs around his hips to help him hold my weight up whilst also throwing my arms around his neck amorously and digging my hands deep into his dark black mane my body suddenly overthrown with passion and thirst. He responded much the same way and before I knew it became evident that both him and me were gasping for air, an indication maybe for us to stop before my Dad, who I was sure could undoubtedly hear us, came and killed Jacob for thinking about his daughter in an unpleasant manor and then proceed by killing me for engaging in the act that he found most repulsive. I pulled away and he lowered me back down to the ground, still not letting any space come between us, as he finally turned away from me and wound his fingers with mine.

Come on, I suppose we should get this over and done with."

"Do we really have to?" I whined.

"Ummm, if you want to spend the rest of your life with me as your husband, in legal terms of course, then yes, you do," he laughed at my lack of enthusiasm.

"Well, I could totally get over that soon enough, I don't think I'd mind. I've never been a law abiding citizen anyway, I mean I was driving when I was seven," I grinned cheekily at him.

His face turned into an expression of mock horror and sadness, "How could you say that? You're being selfish you know, all I wanted was a big, white, over the top wedding and you can't even give me that?" he chuckled.

"Oh well I don't think I can deny you of that now can I? Alright, I've evaded this long enough, let's go," I sighed reluctantly.

"You've always been good at procrastination," he teased towards me.

"Hey! Do you want this big white wedding or not?" I retorted.

He laughed at me and then began ambling up the stairs with my arm in tow, until he stopped at the front door. We both looked at each other and nodded.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ev-" I sighed before I was cut off.

The front door had been thrown wide open quite aggressively with a very annoyed looking person standing on the other side. Both Jake and I stared perplexed at each other before my tiniest Aunt began spreading her wrath.

"Ready as you'll ever be?" she repeated, mocking my unfinished sentence angrily, "Renesmee, so help me I will make this the must unendurable process for you if you continue to make me wait unnecessarily!"

"Well two can play at that game Alice, we can have no wedding at all, it's fine by me. I'm going to be with him forever and that's all I need for me to be satisfied," I smiled smugly as I saw her face even out and turn into a glare. She knew I had her.

"That was a low blow and you know it," Jake whispered in my ear, laughing a little to himself in the process.

"Ok, you win this one just this once, can we just get down to business please? I promise I'll play by your rules this time," she compromised.

"Now that sounds more like it, let's go," I beamed complacently.

She turned quick on her heels, "Stupid, strong-headed vampire. Why couldn't she be more like her mother," she muttered quickly under her breath to herself.

"Hey! I heard that!" I groaned as Jake was in stitches beside me.

"Well it's true," she complained.

"Whatever," I shook it off, "now where are we going to do this?" I asked more seriously now.

"Dining table?" Jake suggested.

"I was thinking something more informal and casual, like the lounge perhaps?" Alice began. She was smart, playing by our rules whilst also abiding with what she wanted to get out of this.

I patted Jake's cheek playfully, "Sorry but Alice does know how to make the lounge sound rather appealing," I laughed.

Jake shook it off and put his arm around my waist pulling me in before we followed Alice into the lounge room. She took an elegant pose in the seat, very official and proper, knees and feet together. She then placed a tower of books and magazines on the table with a THUD! I jumped a little at the sound as Jake and I took the couch directly opposite to her and sat down in a more relaxed stance. He sprawled out on the couch much more naturally, his arm placed lazily across the arm of the chair and his legs spread rather awkwardly in front of him. He then pulled me down next to him, my legs bent out reaching onto the remainder of the couch with my body angled into him and my head resting on his chest. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me in closer resting his chin on my head. I could feel him inhaling my scent as I began to wrap my arms around his torso. We snuggled deeply, Alice seeming to allow us to get our bearings for a while before she began overwhelming us with every possible detail she could.

"What are those for?" I worried, directing my heads towards the large stack of books and magazines.

"They're for later, you'll see, don't worry about it just yet," she smirked devilishly.

I sighed and then looked up towards her. "Ok, I guess you can start now," I said as I stole a glance at her from beneath my lengthy lashes.

Her face lit up at once, it was if someone had told her that there was a sale on at Versace. She quickly composed herself after obviously seeing the distress that her happiness and excitement had caused to me and settled on a calm and poised approach.

"Alright, so first of all what I should start with is what do you want this to be?" she inquired whilst also grabbing out a spiral notepad and grabbing a pen, ready to write down all that Jake and I surely had to say.

Jake was absentmindedly rubbing my arm up and down, I could tell he wasn't really into this whole wedding planning business but I knew he wanted to have some say in what went on, especially when it came down to what he would have to wear. I looked up at him, reaching his eyes at the same moment he did mine, it took me off guard and I had to look away a little to compose myself and my thoughts, so that I could ensure my Dad did not come in here and yell at me or Jake. He smiled as he saw this and brushed his hand across the chagrin that was currently my cheeks and knew exactly what had just happened, chuckling to himself.

"Did you want to start?" he whispered softly in my ear, his voice like silk against my skin.

"Umm, yeah, ok, uhhh sure," I stuttered. His question taking me completely by surprise, as I had all but forgotten that Alice was even in the room.

"So Renesmee then, what do you ultimately want out of the day?" she asked again, her impatience showing a little.

I looked at Jake before I began and his nod and smile of encouragement heartened me to go on, "Well, I know you're going to hate me for this but we want something simple definitely," she groaned already but quickly composed herself again, knowing that she might get something that she wanted if she agreed to go by our standards.

"But I think we want simple but also with an underlying intricacy as a contrast material," Jake added in whilst Alice and I gawked at him in disbelief of what we had just heard.

"What?" both Alice and I questioned.

"What? Can't I be actively involved in the planning of _my_ wedding?" he defended himself immediately.

"Jacob Black, I have known you for a very long time and what just came out of your mouth was definitely out of character. I never knew you had so much intellect hidden under all that shaggy fur, I must say though I am thoroughly impressed," Alice beamed. I'm sure she was already scheming of how to get her way now that she knew that Jacob would be actively involved in the planning process.

"Alice, I am offended that you are so shocked. You know, I have been known to say something smart every now and then," Jake laughed.

"Keep telling yourself that Jacob," Alice muttered under her breath, smiling back up at us once she knew we had heard her.

"Getting back on subject though, I completely agree with Jake," I exclaimed, smiling on end about how perfectly my fiancé had expressed both our views.

"So, you want something with a lot of detail but being on the simpler side?" Alice clarified, sorting through her head trying to work out what we actually meant.

"Yes, but we mean like, details on the little things like landscape and decoration and more of a simple ceremony. Neither of us are particularly religious so why bother right? It doesn't matter anyway to me," I looked up and smiled at him, stealing a quick kiss on the lips when I though Alice wasn't looking. She was too busy scrawling notes busily across the notepad.

"You know, I was thinking it might be fun to play with a theme. That is if you guys will let me?" she asked sincerely, her lips pouting out and eyes becoming soft. I knew that this was coming sooner or later.

I rolled my eyes, and after exchanging a quick glance with Jake to see what his opinion on Alice's idea was we both turned to her to deliver our verdict.

"I don't know how well a theme will tie in with the whole simplicity thing we want going on, sorry Alice," Jake began and the look on Alice's face was only that of complete heartbreak, it was if we had told her someone had just died.

"But I guess, if that's what you really want to do, then how could we say no," he completed and you could see the complete switch in her expression. One moment it looked as if she could've jumped off a cliff with depression and now it was as if I could have been wearing something from a thrift store and she would not have noticed or even cared.

Next thing we knew she had launched herself across the antique coffee table and into both of our laps, wrapping her arms around our necks and squeezing us all together very tightly that both mine and Jake's eyes bugged out a little.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chanted over and over again making it appear evident that she was on cloud nine.

"But! We can pull the plug at anytime if we feel you're not staying true to what we want. Is that clear?"

She pulled away from us and let go, sitting back onto the edge of the coffee table. "Yes, of course. Don't worry guys you won't regret this at all I promise!" she exclaimed, still over the moon that we were allowing her to do this.

"Well, just keep that in mind before you do anything too drastic alright? What theme were you thinking of anyway before I totally let this go ahead?" the thought had just passed my mind and I thought it best to ask before I completely let her take control.

"I was thinking fairy tale, in like a magical sense, I want it to be something from another world, don't you just love it?" she smiled again, not being able to contain her joy and excitement.

"It sounds perfect! I have the best Aunt in the whole wide world, and she's not going to disappoint me at all I know it," I complimented her whilst also issuing my warning within it. She smiled and hugged just me again, acknowledging my threat with a nod.

"Just promise it's not going to be gay! Emmett won't let me hear the end of it if it is and rightly so," Jake groaned with sincerity.

"No work of mine is ever 'gay' so don't you worry about that Jacob Black," Alice said rather smugly.

"You better hope it's not or I can assure you that some unforeseen events may take place just before the ceremony begins," he warned.

"You wouldn't dare interfere with me and my wedding!" she glared ferociously at him.

"Excuse me? Your wedding? I don't think so!" I corrected her.

"You know that's not what I meant, I meant my wedding in regards to the planning that's all," she quickly amended.

"Sure, sure," I smiled up at Jake as I used his very known catchphrase.

"Ok well, I'm glad that's sorted, I've got a million ideas already but we can deal with them a bit later on. So now we need to set a date, I was thinking that because it's four weeks until the Volturi show that we wouldn't want to cut it so close so I thought maybe we could do it around the three week mark which is the middle of July?" she suggested.

"What about the middle of that week then? The Wednesday perhaps?" Jake proposed.

Alice shut her eyes for a second and left Jake and me there in suspense for a moment before she came back into the present. "Hmmm, Wednesday's weather forecast isn't looking so good, I see rain and lots of it. What about the Saturday? That way everyone can fly in for the weekend and it will be much easier," she put forward again.

"Well how is the weather looking for Saturday then?" I laughed at her.

She gave me a mock glare before misting over once more. "Nope, Saturday's fine and sunny, a lovely summer day to get married," she beamed.

"So Saturday as in three weeks from today?" I gulped. So soon?

"Yes, is there a problem?" she asked inquisitively.

Jake squeezed my hand tightly, "No, just the date, that's all it completely took me off guard," I admitted.

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to you know," Jake said, trying to assure me that he wasn't going to force me into anything.

"Oh yes she does, especially if she wants to maintain a happy Aunt," Alice joked.

I completely ignored Alice and turned into him and sat up so that his face was only inches from mine. "Why do you keep on saying that?"

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"Why do you keep on saying that I don't have to do this?" I called him out right there and then.

"Because it's a fact, if you're not ready you don't have to do this, what are you getting upset about?" he justified, still unsure as to what my big issue was. I noticed Alice sitting there silently, watching our little disagreement get larger and larger.

"Do you not want to marry me is that it?" I asked again.

He looked at me as if I was completely insane. "How could you even say that? Is your head alright? Do we need to get you some more pain relief?"

"My head is absolutely fine, why are you asking?" I growled at him.

"Because you're not making any sense!" he shouted, not even seeming to care about Alice being in the vicinity.

"Stop avoiding the question Jacob," I said through my teeth.

"Fine! I'll answer your stupid question. Yes, I want to marry you, with every fibre in my body. I've lived for seven years knowing that I wanted to marry you. Why you ask? Because I love you and I want to be your husband for the rest of my life, however long or short that might be but if you're not ready I don't care I just want to spend all the time I have left with you. God dammit Renesmee is that so hard to understand? I saw your reaction to the date just then and that indicated to me that you're not ready, either that or _you_ don't want to marry me," he argued quite hostilely.

I stood up off the couch, staring down at him as my anger level went through the roof. His eyes avoiding my gaze. "How dare you! How can you say that? Are you joking? The only thing I'm absolutely one hundred percent sure about is you and getting married. Jake, in four weeks time we're all going to be _dead_," my words cut through to him as I saw him flinch at the reality and noticed Alice in the background of the whole scene wince also.

I continued on, "and I want to die being fully committed to you, not being just this girl you went out with. Is that so hard for _you_ to understand? I am ready and more importantly I want this more than anything else in the entire world, I want this more than life itself Jake," my whole mood changed as I sat back down next to him and grabbed his hand in mine. In one slow movement I lifted his hand over my heart and let him feel it pulsating underneath his palm, holding my own hand on top of his. "You have to trust me on this Jake, you, this ... love," I nodded down towards our hands, "is what matters and it's what I want, that is, if that's what you want?" I blinked up through my thick lashes to make eye contact for the first time since we started arguing.

"Of course that's what I want. It's only what I've dreamed about since hearing about the imprinting legends. Growing up, finding an imprint and when the right time came about marrying her and settling down was all I wanted. Come here," he said softly, outstretching his arms towards me.

I leant deep in towards him and he wound his arms tight around me, nestling his nose into my hair.

"I'm sorry that I ever said anything about you being not ready. I just want to feel like I'm doing the right thing by you and by your parents, especially your Dad. I'll love you forever, long after I take my last breaths, all I'll ever want is you," he murmured softly into my bronze curls.

I clung back to him firmly, "I'm sorry too, I never doubted your love for me, it was wrong to question it. I'll always love you, forever and always. I never wanted to turn this into a fight Jake, I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it, this happens. Something we'll have to work on as a married couple," he chuckled.

I giggled along with him until the present came back into the foreground of my mind. "Alice?" I turned away from Jake and looked at her.

"You know Renesmee, we can finish this off some other time later tonight if you want?" she asked, probably wanting to give us space after our little stand off.

"No, no, no. I want to get this underway, after all we don't exactly have all the time in the world to throw it all together," I reasoned with her.

"Alright then, so now that we have a date and it's not that far off we need to send out your save the dates," she explained.

"Is that really necessary? Can't we just send out invitations, it's basically the same thing with the same amount of notice anyway," Jake rattled.

"Yeah, Jake's right Alice, I think if we want people to come we've just got to get them out there," I agreed.

Alice's face twisted in decision and thought, "but Renesmee, it's the proper way to do it. Would you deny your guests that?"

"And deny you a chance of shopping perhaps? Alice, look, let's be practical about it. I promise you that you can do whatever you want with the invitations, take it to any length, go overboard with decorations on it if you must, I don't mind," I tried to compromise with her.

"Oh, alright but only because it's you two," she warned, not wanting to seem like she's gone soft when it came to getting her own way. She kept on going, "don't think I'm going to let everything go that easily though. Ok, so now that we've decided on a date and invitations we need a venue. Now obviously I was thinking here would be the best place to do it seeing as the story in town is that we've already left but I'm open to suggestions."

"No, I just assumed it would be here anyway, although I'm hoping because you're sure that it's going to be a lovely day, that it could be outside," I asked, seeking her approval of my idea, too bad if she didn't like it anyway.

"Yes, definitely, that will give me more room to work with my theme anyway but we can certainly do that," she smiled in approval as she jotted that down on her notebook too.

"Jake are you alright with that?" I clarified, better make sure Jake agreed with all of this too before it went ahead.

"Sounds perfect," he smiled affectionately towards me.

"So are you alright to leave the time and setting and what not with me?" Alice elucidated.

"I suppose so, what did you have in mind for timing though?" Jake inquired.

"You're going to love it!" she shrieked, not being able to contain her excitement. "I want to plan it so when your saying your vows and when you finally kiss for the first time as a married couple sunset lay overhead, it will be the perfect photo opportunity!"

"Well? What do you guys think?" she asked, searching for praise and approval.

"It sounds amazing, I just hope it works out," I worried.

"Ye have little faith Renesmee, anything planned by me, will _always _work out flawlessly, always!" she enunciated.

Jake laughed beside me at her assurance. "So was there anything else you wanted to go over, or do we have most of the preliminaries done?" I asked.

"I just wanted to go over a first draft guest list with the both of you first, if that's alright with you," she added in on the end, trying to make it seem like we were in control of the situation when the reality was we were far from it.

"Ok, but remember one of the reasons we wanted it to be simple is because we have a very small guest list," I warned her, preparing her that she would have to cater to a small crowd and that big and over the top things were out of the question.

"You honestly don't think I haven't thought about this already? Relax and just tell me who you are thinking of," she pestered me.

"Well of course there's our whole family, so eight already off the bat," I listed and she began a new page of note taking and idea recording.

"Then there is all the Quileutes, like my Dad, Sue and Charlie, Seth, my sister Rachel and Paul, Jared and Kim, Quil and Claire, Embry, Sam and Emily an-"

"Plus the baby!" I jutted in.

"Baby?" Alice and Jake both muttered in my direction.

I grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, Sam and Emily's newborn, Liam, he would be around a month old. He's absolutely adorable," I gushed as memories of the screaming newborn filled my head and smiled at the sweet reminiscence.

"Sam has a kid? Whoa! Did not see that one coming," Jake said, now deep in thought about something else.

Alice, however, stayed on task, her mind only for the wedding, "Rosalie will be thrilled to have another child to play with. Now, keep on listing," she harassed us again.

"Plus add Leah and Kyle, we were thinking we could talk to Kyle's father, it turns out he's a minister. What do you think?"

"He's not in on the whole werewolf thing is he?" Alice speculated before making her decision.

"No, he doesn't know anything, so we'd have to get Jasper in touch with his connection so that Jake and I are legally allowed to wed," I explained.

"Well, I guess as long as he agrees to do everything as instructed by me then it should be fine, does he know that he's doing it?" she inquired.

"Yeah, Mum said she talked to Leah and Kyle when we were visiting down there, although she didn't tell me about it until afterwards, turns out she knew that this one here was going to propose when we got back all along, Dad was the only one who didn't it seems," I smiled as I nudged Jake playfully in the ribs.

"Yes, yes, yes that's all very nice Renesmee, but can we get back to the task at hand, guest list. Keep going?" she prompted at both Jake and I.

"Well that's it for me," Jake brushed off.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" I asked Jake, trying to make him say her name aloud.

"Nope?" he said sincerely, honestly not knowing who I was referring to.

"Rebecca?" I suggested towards him.

He sighed at once and went all rigid. "Please let's not talk about this right now," he said through his clenched teeth at him.

"Jake, she's your sister, your blood relative whether you like it or not and you know it would mean the world to your Dad to see you three all together again," I reasoned with him softly.

"You know Jacob, she would probably be offended if she didn't at least get an invitation. How about we just send one and then let her decide, put the ball in her court," Alice suggested, always the one to be solving others problems.

"Maybe, just let me think about it a little alright?" he said, dismissing the subject definitively.

I grabbed his hand in mine and then rested it back onto his lap, smiling up at him as I took it. His response was a swift peck on my forehead.

"Ok then Renesmee what about you?" Alice badgered again.

"Well, I don't really have anyone to invite, except Britt of course, do you think she'll be able to come?" I asked, wishing greatly that she could.

"I don't know, we'll talk to Carlisle about it and see what he thinks but if it means that much to you I'll get her there somehow," Alice assured me.

"Thank you, I guess we should probably invite the Denali clan although I wonder if they'll feel awkward coming seeing as their sister is going to be responsible for mine and my family's murder the week after, the same with Kachiri and Senna," I grumbled belligerently.

"They're practically family Renesmee we have to and besides, they would be invited to celebrate as this is a wonderful occasion no talking about other matters would be allowed and I'm sure they'd want to come anyway, they all adored you," she smiled affectionately now and then quickly began

scribbling down some more details on her notepad.

"So can we go now, is that it?" Jake asked expectantly, lifting himself off the sofa, etching to get away from Alice and have me all to himself.

"Yes Jacob, you may go," she dismissed him and I laughed at the role that authority played in their relationship.

"Well, that's great but I only want to go if she can come with me," he explained whilst grabbing me around my waist and hauling me up to stand beside him.

"Renesmee is mine for the next hour, if you have a problem with that then I suggest you deal with it because it's not going to go down any other way," she forewarned him, baring her gleaming white teeth directly at him as she grabbing my wrist and pulled me away from him, beginning to head out into the dining area.

"Fine! Sheesh! I guess I'll just tag along then," he grumbled as he began to follow after us.

Alice placed her palm up and stopped him abruptly, "I want Renesmee _only_, I'm sure you can find something else to do for sixty minutes."

"Why? What are you going to do that I can't be involved in, it's my wedding too you know Alice," he grizzled towards her.

"Yes I am fully aware of that however, we are going to discuss her attire for the day and you can't know about any of it, we're doing this the traditional way so run along and find something to entertain yourself with, got it?" Alice issued.

"You are by far, the world's most annoying and irritating person under five foot ever!" he groaned making a fuss before pressing his lips to mine briefly and taking himself out the opposing doors.

"I think I'll go and find Emmett, he wanted a rematch after our last meeting, he just can't admit he lost to something that still manages to get fleas," Jake chuckled and exited the room.

"Please tell me you think I'm doing a good job so far," Alice worried aloud to me.

"Alice, relax! I couldn't want anyone else to do this job for me, you're perfect and you're playing by my rules for now," I comforted her.

"Is everything alright between you two?" she asked intently, catching me rather off guard by her direct approach to the subject.

"Yeah? What made you ask?" I pondered inquisitively.

"Have you forgotten what just went on in that room only five minutes ago?" she said, questioning my sanity.

"Oh, that. I don't know Alice, sometimes the things he says, they just freaks me out," I speculated, to both her and myself.

"What do you mean? In what way?"

"Like, when he talks about us and how we are and what's happening with us, it's like he says it almost, ah, I don't know the word but like, sometimes I just feel like it's not really him that wants me," I tried to explain.

"I'm not following you Nessie," Alice said, with a very puzzled look on her face.

"I mean like, it's the werewolf gene, the imprinting. He always goes on about how he always wants me to have a choice, whether it be being with him or having a wedding but I've only just started thinking he never really had a choice to begin with."

"Don't be ridiculous Nessie, how could you even think of something like that," Alice questioned me.

"Well, it's true, he didn't choose me, he have any choice in the matter, it just happened. It could've been anyone and he still would have had to love that person unconditionally, it just happened by chance that it was me," I explained.

"Renesmee, surely you would know by now, especially coming from this family, that everything happens for a reason. There's no maybe about it, it's fate," Alice smiled, trying to calm my uncertainties.

"You really think we ended up together because it was meant to happen?" I sought reassurance desperately from her.

She walked us both over back to the lounge room now and sat me down next to her on the couch, placing her arm around me affectionately.

"You know what I think?"

"What?"

"That we all ended up together for a reason, imprinting legends aside," she smiled dotingly towards me.

"I know but, it just makes you think, what if it hadn't been me. I would be spending the rest of eternity alone, how fun," I muttered sarcastically.

"Aren't you getting my point at all? It wouldn't have ever not been you. You'll have to ask Jacob to explain imprinting to you a little better because you're obviously not understanding the magnitude and certainty that it is," she laughed wholeheartedly.

"Alice?"

"Yeah?" she asked, sounding almost nervous.

"I was just wondering if I could ask you another question?" a thought popping into my head just then.

"I guess that would depend on what it was about," she laughed anxiously.

"It's about something you said a while ago," I faltered.

"Oh no, what has my big mouth gotten me into trouble for this time?" she worried aloud.

"No, no, no, don't worry, it's nothing like that. It's more something you said that I didn't hear," I explained.

"Renesmee, can you just stop being cryptic here and just tell me what it is that you want to know," Alice snapped tensely.

"Well, you know when we were leaving to go to Forks," I waited for her not before I continued, "well you know when we were driving off and Jake sort of, uhm, chased after us I guess and then Emmett caught him before he could go any further. Then he was struggling and you whispered something into his ear and it made him stop fighting, I was just wondering, you know, if you would tell me what you said for him to do that?"

"Oh, yes I remember that only too well. I said, 'if you really love her, you'll let her go'"

"Wow," I whispered, rendered completely speechless.

"I know," Alice mirrored, as we sat there in silence for only a little while.

We were not alone for much longer before three steps of footsteps could be heard trailing away from the kitchen and heading towards our living area, the precise sound of heels clicking on the tiles.

Aunt Rose entered the room first along with my Mum and then Esme. "And what's going on here?" Rose asked speculatively.

I nodded my head towards the large pile of books and magazines. "You really can't tell?" I questioned her observation.

They all laughed and then began to take their seats around me, Mum sitting right next to me, Rose replacing Alice as she went back to sit with her beloved note pad and all her other tools for torture and Esme sitting just on the other side of Mum.

"You started without us," Rose scolded Alice whilst Mum and Esme turned towards me.

"Where are all the guys?" I wondered.

"They're all out egging on Emmett and Jake, rather obnoxiously if you ask me. I honestly thought your father knew better," Mum grumbled.

"He's not going to get hurt is he Mum?" I worried, wanting her cool word to be the thing that would reassure me. Jake knew I hated it when he decided to get physical with any member of my family, let alone Emmett but had always brushed off my concerns.

"So how did you like your afternoon Renesmee?" Esme sweetly asked, changing the subject for me.

I turned to smile radiantly towards her, soon jumping over my Mum to embrace her in a deep hug and then just rested there on her lap. "It was absolutely amazing Esme, thank you so much!"

"Hey!"

"Alright, and you too Alice," I rolled my eyes. As soon as I had acknowledged her involvement in my afternoon's setting she had gone back to flicking through magazines with Rose, pointing out things and then writing them intently down in her book.

"What did you two get up to?" Mum asked innocently.

"Not too much to be perfectly honest, we just lied there and talked about things but it was nice, really nice," I grinned sheepishly.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it sweetie," Esme hugged me back tightly.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm sure Renesmee had a great time this afternoon but let's get back to why we are all here," Alice said brushing off Esme's comment.

"Relax Alice, we're just trying to take an interest in her life," Mum cautioned her.

"Bella, you know how much I love you but if you're not going to help, then you're going to have to leave because I really need to get things sorted," Alice shot right back at her.

"Calm down Alice," I warned her, almost smiling, her attitude towards the whole thing was absolutely ridiculous.

"No it's alright Nessie, I don't think I want to be around Alice while she's like this it won't end well. Especially if she gets short tempered with you, I don't know what I'd do. How about I go and supervise what the guys are doing, for you?" she whispered in my ear, so low that even Alice wouldn't hear her insult.

"Thanks Mum," I hugged her tightly, knowing that if she was going to be with Jake and Emmett that everything would be alright.

"Behave yourself Alice, remember she's still my daughter. Do anything to make her upset and you have Edward and me to deal with," Mum parted with before winking at me and leaving through the front door.

"Whatever, let's just get to the point. So what I most want to discuss is the dress, it's got to be absolutely perfect. I want you to look ethereal to go with the theme. That's why we need it custom made of course, Esme's here to sketch it out, so just let her know if I get anything wrong, remember this is your day," she explained.

She turned away from me and handed Esme her sketching pad. "Now what do you think about a sweetheart neckline, strapless of course, she's got the shoulder line to pull it off definitely," Alice began.

"What about a corset style bodice," Rose suggested, "with lace or silk fastening all the way down the back?"

Esme began to sketch what Rose had just suggested while Alice was about to jump all over the idea before she stopped herself and turned towards me. "What do you think about that?"

"I don't know, I think I'll have to see it, I'm not really sure what you mean," I smiled towards her, proud that she had controlled herself.

Esme's hands worked at an insane speed before she turned her sketch around and pushed it towards me. There were two sketches one from the front and the other from the back as I studied the drawing more intricately. She had just drawn from the torso up but I had already fallen completely in love with what they had come up with.

"What about detailing on the bodice? Like some sort of diamonds encrusted around it, like this," Esme proposed, pointing as she drew a spiral down and around the corset.

Alice and Rose looked up towards me. "I love it, you guys are absolutely amazing!" I smiled towards all three of them.

"Now what about for the bottom, 'a' line or ballooning out? What do you think Renesmee?" Rose inquired.

"Hmmm, what do you think will work better Alice?" I turned to address her.

Alice's face seemed to light up even more by my calling on her for her opinion. "Honestly, I think to work better with our theme, ballooning out with just make it suit better," she told me.

"Esme, can I please see how that would look?" I asked sweetly.

She smiled back at me, "of course," and got back to work on her little page and continued sketching my dream dress. Her hands continued designing, working the paper in front of her, her wrist and fingers flowing effortlessly over the page. She finally eased up with her strokes and turned it around so that I could properly see it. The dress, front and back, looked like something out of a fairy tale, something from another time, another world.

"So, what do you think?" Rose asked me from beside me, after what seemed like an eternity.

I lifted the sketch up off the table, brining it closer to my eyes. My fingers glided over the paper, tracing the intricate detailing Esme had put into it. I closed my eyes and tried hard to imagine me in it but I knew this was something that I would have to physically see to be able to fully appreciate and grasp the beauty of what we had all created.

"Renesmee?" Esme called soothingly, bringing me out of my daze.

"I'm speechless," I laughed delicately.

"It's not too big and puffy?"

"No, not at all, it's absolutely perfect!" I exclaimed.

"Is this definitely what you want then?" Alice waited anxiously for my response.

"I couldn't imagine anything else," I smiled before turning to Esme and winding my arms around her neck firmly. Moving next to Rose, pulling her tight and close for a similar embrace, overwhelmed with excitement and longing to see this dress. I saved my last hug for Alice, I got up off the couch and meandered over and sat myself down on her lap smiling adoringly at her and then wrapping my arms around her tiny frame.

"Thank you so much, all of you. You're all amazing and I have no idea where this wedding would be without you, I'm so excited for Jake to see it," I smiled elated, removing myself from Alice's lap and situating myself back into my original position

"Which won't be a moment before you begin walking down the aisle," she eyed me down dubiously.

"I wouldn't dare getting on your bad side Alice, don't worry," I laughed at her speculativeness towards me.

"Now what about fabrics?" Esme asked, looking over her sketch.

I immediately turned towards Rose, I knew that this was her area of expertise, she had always told me that she had a knack for choosing textures and combinations, apparently she had helped Alice with Mum's dress.

"I was thinking a silk for the bodice, it's relatively easy to work the diamonds and jewels into that with lace in the back, maybe like a coloured ribbon winding around the waist line that will lead into the dress. Also maybe, a layer of tulle over a silk base for the bottom half, just to give it that volume and lift that you want it to balloon out," Rose recommended, while Esme scribbled notes around her sketch.

Alice's eyes deepened in thought as she, presumably, visualised the dress in her head, noting in Rose's suggestions for fabrics. "What colour band were you thinking?" she asked.

"I wasn't sure, I was going to leave it up to you, not wanting to mess with any colour schemes that you may have going but if I was going to do it, I would put in a neutral in like silver," she explained.

"Hmmm, I like that idea, you're a genius Rose," Alice complimented.

I smiled at the love being shown in this room, it seems since my birth, or so my parents had told me, everyone had gotten closer together and if it were even possible I think with this wedding, everyone was becoming ever more close.

"Was that all for today Alice?" I asked, looking at my watch and noting that her hour was almost up, trying to wrap it all up.

"Well, I mean, we still have placements and flowers, vows, music and photography to organise," she said reluctant to let me go.

"Alice, don't forget catering, we've got a whole wolf pack coming!" Rose joked and we all laughed, she was right, we were going to need a lot of food to satisfy the pack, even considering that most of our guests would not eat.

"Can we sort that all out tomorrow? please?" I begged, just wanting to be with my beloved Jacob again.

"I guess so, besides, I have to get onto this dress maker right away, we have a hefty order that needs to be filled, plus I have to organise everyone else's garments," she said, making a mental checklist for herself.

"I'm just going to go and make a phone call alright? I need to fax these sketches off to the designer as soon as possible, plus I hear the boys coming back and I'll be damned if any of them are seeing this dress, I'll be back soon!" she yelled as she began making her way into the kitchen

Just then, rumbling from the front door could be heard and cut our little conversation short. I looked up towards the entrance and saw Mum and Dad enter together hand in hand with a look in their eyes that made me feel like I wanted to be sick, Dad chuckled on hearing this and pulled Mum in for a kiss just to make me feel worse. Jasper came in next, Carlisle at his side, they were in some deep discussion, probably about the Volturi, and bypassed the living room altogether heading straight to Carlisle's study and closing the door. I must remind myself to inquire about that discussion later. Emmett came in next, his face sour and twisted, Jake must've beaten him again. Rose got up from my side and went to his side, whispering words into his ear, whilst smirking herself a little, that made him perk up almost instantly, I was fairly sure I didn't want to know what she had said and finally, the man I had been waiting for, Jake walked into the living area. My breath got cut short unexpectedly when I realised that he had no shirt on again, my only reaction was to grin beamingly towards him, getting up off the couch to go and kiss him. Not having any physical contact with him for an hour had really taken its toll on me, I was stupid for ever thinking that Jake didn't have a choice in the imprint although I would have to get him to explain it later to me. I kissed him amorously winding my arms around his very tall frame until my parents cleared their throats uncomfortably. As I pulled away from him I smiled.

"I missed you," he whispered to me as he brushed his lips against my forehead and cheeks.

"Trust me, I missed you more," I replied back as he then pulled me back for another public display of affection. Life was good.

**A/N: So what did you guys think? Now that I'm back on the writing journey again comments, ideas, suggestions and even criticism would be much appreciated. What did you like? What didn't you like? I'm all about pleasing you so please give me some feedback and ...**

**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW**

**love you all**

**Zoe**

**:)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey guys I am sooooooooooo sorry for the wait and the bad news just keeps on coming I'm afraid. My laptop from which I have been writing this story is school owned and as I am leaving the school this year, it has to be returned and it has to be returned this Tuesday. I have no idea what I am going to do, if anyone knows how I am able to get a Pages document (Mac word-processing application) and how to make it compatible with a PC which is where I'm going to have to write from now on, could you please let me know otherwise I have no idea how I am going to be able to continue writing this story. Much appreciated all of you, so please enjoy Chapter 15 of Rising Sun:Autumn Dusk :)**

Chapter 15

Jake and I sprawled out on the couch for what seemed like an eternity, gazing affectionately into one another's eyes the entire time. The movements of my family passing by were nothing but a blur as I savoured this precious time that I had with my fiancé. Mum and Dad had come in once to tell us that they were going hunting with Rose, Jasper and Carlisle and to call if we needed anything and I don't know how many times Alice had come in asking us about food choices, flower arrangements, table settings and absolutely every other detail you could possible think of! Every time she had come in I had immediately agreed with her, just to get her to go away. Jake hadn't been as lenient towards Alice, making a particularly certain gesture towards her every time she had been coming in lately.

Jake caught me gazing off to the side and proceeded then by grabbing my chin and tilting it towards his mouth so that he could lovingly place a sweet kiss on my lips. Amorously deepening the kiss I crashed my lips back down on his and I soon engulfed the familiar taste of his hot breath on the inside of my mouth, responding to my eagerness.

He pulled his head back away from me and smiled adoringly at me, "did you wanna take this upstairs?"

I grinned back up at him sheepishly, nodding very eagerly as he then began to lift me off the couch. I wound my legs around his waist and threw my arms around his neck, not once letting our lips part. Jake then proceeded in making his way out of the living room and advancing to the stairs quickly, he was as fervent as I was to get to a more private place.

We had almost made our way to the foot of the stairs when a high-pitched plea stopped Jake in his tracks. "Wait! Renesmee!" Alice had called out.

Jake groaned against my mouth and put me down on the first step so that are faces were now level, he spun around on his spot quickly.

"What Alice?" he growled at her, his patience wearing very thin. I giggled at his annoyance, I couldn't help it, he was just so adorably cute when he was angry.

"Don't you take that tone with me Jacob Black," she growled back at him, totally unintimidated by the immense height that he had over her.

"What could you possibly need now Alice? You practically haven't left us alone all night! Have you not interrupted us enough this evening!" he sighed in frustration.

She glared murderously at Jake, really resembling a vampire, "I am doing this all for you Jacob, you know you could be a little more appreciative."

"Oh, I forgot that you were doing this all for me and that you are getting no personal gratification from this what so ever, poor you Alice, you must be so annoyed about being forced to do this all, how rude of me not to think how this is affecting you," Jake muttered sarcastically.

Alice chose to ignore Jake's sarcasm and turned to me, "Anyway, what I was going to say before I was so rudely challenged was, Renesmee? What do you think about lilac and silver as a colour scheme for dresses and suits as well as the the settings and flowers and stuff like that?" she inquired to me.

"Yep, Alice that sounds great," I said not even processing her request at all. My mind was too caught up on what I could be doing and with that thought I turned on my heels and grabbed Jake's hand, running up the stairs aggressively.

"Hold it right there you two," Alice called up the staircase sternly.

Both Jake and I groaned this time and pivoted to face her, "What Alice, I agreed to what you wanted you said you only wanted me for an hour, so don't bother me again for the rest of the night!" I exclaimed.

Alice's face was composed and you could tell by the look in her eye that she was on a mission. "No Renesmee, I will get what I want."

I smiled at her persistence and called her bluff, "Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure of that?" I asked confidently, knowing all too well that if I did not want things to go down this way they would not.

"Well the future tells me that in a couple of moments from now you and Jacob are going to go up into your bedroom and close the door, as I recall that is strictly against house rules," she grinned cheekily at me.

I let out a short laugh, "Come on Al, do you really expect me to believe that? I may be young but I'm not that naive. We all know that you can't see Jake or mine's future. Sorry you lose and I win." Jake laughed at my logic as I then resumed pulling him up the stairs.

"Not so fast Renesmee, I guess that you're just assuming that you know everything that has been going on lately, I think I forgot to tell you that I have been starting to see both you and Jake in my visions more clearly, how else would I have been able to tell you the weather forecast for your wedding date if you were affecting the vision?" she finished with a smirk and waited for me to comeback to her argument.

Both Jake and I stared at her, completely stunned and it took me a couple of moments to recover enough to actually try and counter her reasoning. "Well, you know what Alice, I really don't care, even if that is the truth. What are you possibly going to do to get your own way, tie both Jake and I up? I've had enough of your games, if you want me, and please don't, then we'll be in my room," I smiled cunningly at her before turning back to Jake and climbing the last of the stairs.

"Fine, have it your way then," Alice walked away, this couldn't be right, she never backs off this easily, "I'm sure Edward would be interested to know what went on while he was away on his hunting trip, you know Renesmee, I have a rather good imagination."

That certainly wiped the smile off my face and stopped both Jake and I dead in our tracks. I turned slowly from the top of the bannister to glare at her evil smiling face. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Alice countered and with that my hands were tied.

I grumbled and groaned in defeat. "Fine Alice, you win but you have five minutes and I just want you to know that you are now going to have a very difficult niece on your hands. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Jake growled as I stretched up to kiss him swiftly on the lips, "I'm sorry but five minutes and I'll be back."

"I'm seriously contemplating murder at this point, I'm not opposed to killing pixies," Jake grumbled quietly into my ear.

I giggled as I kissed him once more before making my descend back down the stairs to where my evil Aunt was waiting for me.

"Alice, seriously, this better be the quickest five minutes of my life or I swear to god I am going to make this the most painful experience for you and Jake and I will elope to Vegas," I grumbled at her.

She smiled sweetly at me, almost like she was trying to get on my nerves, "Renesmee, we both know that you would never do that to me, plus, I've seen your wedding in the future the way you see it, with the decisions you're making," she said smugly.

Huh, we'll see about that, as I then focused on the thought of Jake and I eloping to Vegas and watched in satisfaction as I saw her eyes glaze over for a few seconds before coming back to the present and eyeing me carefully.

"Ok, I get it, I'm sorry I'm being so pushy but seriously you've given me less then three weeks to put this thing together I just want to get on top of things as fast as I can. I'll try and keep in mind that you want to spend as much time with Jake as you can but I just want to make this perfect for you," she softened up, finally understanding what I was getting at.

"Are you saying that because you mean it or are you saying it because you think that's what I want to hear?" I joked with her before pulling her into a bone-crushing hug.

She pulled back from me and smiled affectionately, "Ok, now if you want to get back to Jake, let's get this over with."

I grinned at her and took her outstretched hand in mine as she lead me into the dining room where we sat down next to each other.

"Ok, so what I wanted to just clear with you was the finalisation of these table placements before I put in my order," she explained to me as she pulled an enormous scrap book in front of me showing a page dedicated entirely to table settings there were many floral arrangement filled with lilies, gardenias and many other colourful flower cascading from a tall glass vase in the centre of a very large circular table, purple very much a dominant feature in this particular arrangement.

"I love it Al, it's absolutely gorgeous, what I was thinking of though, was you know how you were talking about the waistline sash on my dress, what if that was complementary to these settings, as well as your dresses in like a lilac or something?" I suggested, already thinking about what it would look like.

Alice pondered for half a second before brightening up, "Renesmee that's perfect! Why didn't I think of that myself?"

I laughed at her self-scolding, "So, if it's alright with you I'm going to go back upstairs," I said already getting up and making my way out of the room.

"Yes, yes, go. Don't worry I won't say anything to Edward, just make sure you remember that there are vampires downstairs," she smiled up at me.

I stopped abruptly, "Woah Alice, trust me we're not doing that!"

"Whatever you say," she passed me off, as I began to blush a light pink.

"Alice, you are so embarrassing, it's not like that I promise," I tried to assure her, my face deepened a shade or two.

And as if this conversation couldn't get anymore awkward, Emmett then decided to walk in. "Hey guys, what are we talking about?" he boomed into the room.

Alice ignored Emmett and continued, "Renesmee, I remember what it was like when your Mum and Dad first got together."

Emmett now catching onto what we were talking about decided to pipe in, "Alice, I think we all remember what it was like when Bella and Edward first got together, that wasn't even the problem because Edward would stay the night at Bella's, unbeknownst to Charlie of course, and we wouldn't have to deal with them. Ness, god you should've seen them when Bella was first changed, let's just say that we had to look after you all the time!" his structure-shaking laugh radiated throughout the house.

"Emmett they're my parents! Ew!" I yelled at him.

Alice was still laughing, both of them enjoying my embarrassment too much to stop with the teasing just yet.

"Renesmee, we're not trying to embarrass you," Alice said, sensing my pretty obvious mortified expressions, "believe it or not I was once a teenager too."

I stared at her in confusion, "Alice, you still are a teenager."

"Yes, but the difference between you and me is that I have a couple of years on you plus I don't have hormones coursing through my body," she smiled smugly as my face went from a rosy pink to a bright beetroot red, Emmett responding to my blush with another earth-shaking laugh.

"Renesmee, I didn't think it was possible but I think we have found someone who can blush a deeper red than your Mum once could," he let out in between his hysterics.

I stared both them down fiercely. "Alice, Emmett, I'm not having this conversation with you, this isn't happening, I'm leaving," I dismissed her and stormed out of the room, hearing their laughter escalate as I left.

I hadn't even made it halfway up the stairs when Emmett called after me. "Hey Renesmee, remember, don't do anything Uncle Emmett wouldn't approve of!"

I groaned and grizzled aloud, to both of their satisfaction, and speed up the stairs as fast as I could, needing to get away from them quick.

I barged into my room in a tizz, looking around the room for Jake, finding him sitting on my bed looking at one of his million car magazines. On my entrance he looked up from his magazine at me, a questioning look on his face.

"I swear to god, I'm going to kill Alice and doubly kill Emmett," I exasperated in anger.

He laughed at my irritation. "Wanna tell me what happened?" he asked as he patted the bed beside him, beckoning me to sit down.

"No, I most definitely do not," I said, my face returned to being crimson as I quickly ducked my face into his chest, trying to hide it from him.

"Now I really want to know what happened,"he joked pulling my shoulders back to make me look at him.

"Well, you're not going to, it's nothing anyway, just Emmett being his usual teasing self," I said, trying to pass it off.

He chuckled to himself, knowing exactly what I was talking about when I referred to Emmett's teasing. Although I was the one complaining about it Jake was the one who got it the worst, it normally had something to do with with his smell or when he was getting a little too physical with me for the family's liking.

"Ah, I see, I think I can make you feel better," he smiled as he lifted his hand to graze my cheek ever so softly, cupping it in his hands and stroking it with his thumb, he then advanced to my lips kissing me sensually.

I responded by wrapping my hands delicately around his neck. He then proceeded in pushing me down, so that I was lying down on the bed, flipping himself so that we laid adjacent to each other. He travelled down my shoulder with his spare hand, following down my side to rest on my waist. Pulling me closer to him so that our bodies pressed together without any spaces, he deepened the kiss as I felt his tongue enter my mouth. My eyes widened by his eagerness, normally Jake didn't let us get this carried away because he knew my Dad would eventually find out about it one way or another, in either of our thoughts and if we were that controlled around him then my dreams would always give us away.

"Renesmee?" ... "Jacob?" Esme was calling us from downstairs.

Both of us immediately pulled away, gasping for air and looked at each other. Jake groaning for being interrupted and I had to giggle, it seemed that something was working against us both tonight.

"Maybe hold that thought for a second," I whispered softly to him, pushing away from him and beginning to get up.

"No, don't go. Let's just ignore her," he grabbed my wrist and pulled my back down against his chest, his hands then traveling back down to my hips where he closed the space between us, stretching his lips to kiss me again.

I pecked him back quickly before laughing softly into the crook of his neck. "Tempting idea but if we don't respond to her then she's going to come up here so I suggest we hot-foot it downstairs before this definitely gets back to my father."

"Ah."

"That's what I thought," I laughed as I straightened out my clothing and tried to tame my hair. I then pulled him off my bed and made our way to the very clichéd closed door. Jake reached for the brass door handle and pulled lightly on it, where we came face to face with my lovely doe-eyed grandmother.

Her glances kept on moving back and forth between Jacob and I. She looked a little surprised and even a hint of embarrassment to see us emerging together. "Oh, I didn't realise that you two were in here. Together. Well, um, ah, dinner's ready downstairs, that's why I was calling you," she flustered trying to explain herself.

"Thank you Esme, we'll be down in a few minutes, can you just give us a moment to freshen up?" I smiled sweetly at her and she nodded before descending back down the stairs.

Jake laughed as I freaked out. "Did you see the way she was looking at us, I don't think I'll ever be able to look her in the eyes again," a wave of de-ja-vu passed through me as I remembered the last time I uttered those words to Seth, it seemed to be that my grandparents on both sides always found me in situations that they thought were bad.

"There's no way that this isn't going to get back to your Dad now you do realise?" Jake muttered a little anxious now.

"Oh god! I didn't even think of that! He's going to kill me," I worried.

"He's going to kill you? He's going to kill me!" Jake countered.

I laughed, "Nah, he wouldn't do that, only if he wanted to kill me by doing so. I think you'll survive." Kissing him again on the lips.

"Ok, so we should probably get downstairs before Esme comes looking for us again," Jake suggested as he then laced his fingers with mine and lead me gently down the stairs, heading for the dining room.

As we walked in the entire family was seated at the table, something quite odd to see, normally the idea of us eating repulsed my family but now here they all sat Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and I gulped when I saw the last two people; my Mum and my Dad. Everyone greeted us a good evening as we took our places in front of our food. Esme had cooked steak tonight, you could easily tell which plate was for who. Jake's plate consisted with two large pieces of steak accompanied by a mountain of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. My plate was only filled with pieces of steak, rarely cooked, I liked it with as much blood as it could have in it, this was usually the only meal that kept both my vampire and human sides happy. Carlisle sat at the head of the table with my Dad at the opposite side, to his left was then Mum, Alice, Rose and Esme and to his right sat me, Jake, Emmett and then Jasper. Jake began to stuff his face with the food before I began and then everyone else launched into their own conversations. Alice was getting Mum, Rose and Esme up to speed on wedding details and what she still had to do, Carlisle and Jasper immersed themselves in even more planning for the inevitable fight and tried to think up different strategies whilst Emmett and Jake were getting into a rather heated discussion about their earlier brawl, Emmett demanding a rematch, accusing Jake of cheating. I tried to focus on my food and eating, staring down at my plate but I could feel my Dad's cold eyes gazing at me. I finally looked up to meet his stare and immediately regretted doing so. I cleared my throat uneasily and reached for my glass of water in front of me, not once taking my eyes off of his.

"So Renesmee, is there anything that you would like to tell me?" he finally spoke after what felt like years of uncomfortable silence.

"In regards to?" I let out timidly.

"I think you know perfectly well about what I am referring to," he whispered sternly to me, exercising his "father tone."

"Dad it was nothing to worry about, please trust me," I hushed him, trying to dismiss the subject altogether.

"It's not you I don't trust," he conjectured.

"What? You think he's taking advantage of me?" I raised my voice as I threw down my knife and fork, causing all the conversation around us to cease and turn their attention to the rather heated argument that my Dad and I were having. Esme and Carlisle excused themselves quietly and left the dining room.

"Keep your voice down please," Dad requested, not happy with the attention that was being received.

"Dad, I can't believe you think he's taking advantage of me? We're sixteen, well, respectively. Anyway, from what I've been hearing today, you and Mum were doing a lot worse things when you were my age, than the innocent fun that we were having today," I argued, and when I mentioned them my Mum's eyes bulged out of her head and if she could've blushed she definitely would've. I also noticed Emmett trying to stifle his laughter, obviously sensing that this wasn't the right time for his humour.

Dad was taken aback a little by my statement, obviously he was unaware that I had that knowledge. "That has nothing to do with what we are talking about, like you said, you're only sixteen," he tried to counter me.

Jake then leaned over to Emmett, "I swear we didn't even get to second base," whispering quietly in the hopes that my Dad would be too focused on our confrontation to notice.

I took a deep breath, trying to control my anger, knowing all too well that where I got it from was staring right at me with a similar look on his face.

"Dad, I can understand where you're coming from but trust me when I say nothing happened, as if you couldn't read our minds anyway?" I smiled at him taking his hand in mine.

He looked down at my gesture and then tilted his glance back up to look me in my eyes. "I know that, I do trust you and Jacob but how do you expect a father to react though? Be all grins and smiles that his daughter is fooling around with a dog? I'm just trying be a responsible parent and look out for you," he justified everyone laughing at his weightless insult to Jake, Rose and Emmett's the most prominent. Mum then got up and situated herself on Dad's lap and gazed dotingly into his eyes, very proud that he was able to come to this resolve, knowing that it took a lot of effort. It seemed to him that Jacob Black was always trying to swoon his women as Mum once put it.

Jake, who now got that it probably wasn't the best time to joke, piped up to say something. "You know I respect her Bells and Edward and I would never do anything that she wasn't comfortable with. Anyways, even if I did try something like that she'd be able to put me back in my place. I think she's inherited her right hook from her mother," he joked as he grinned his Jacob-smile, lightening the mood instantly with everyone bursting into laughter. You could hear Emmett's loud boom, Alice's dainty tinkle, Jasper's light snigger, Rose's angelic laughter and Dad's chuckle as Mum buried her head into his chest, embarrassed by Jake's statement.

"Well, I think Alice and me are going to head off hunting, Nessie, don't do anything funny while we're gone," Emmett joked as he and Alice made their way out of the dining room.

"Oh Renesmee, don't forget you need to talk to Carlisle about certain wedding guests," Alice reminded me, yelling out before closing the front door.

"What is she talking about Renesmee?" Rose inquired, shuffling down a couple of seats so that she was now seated opposite me.

"Oh, well I really wanted Britt at the wedding but then Alice didn't know if it would be alright then she said to ask Carlisle," I blurted out in a rush.

"Well, you know she can't," Jasper spoke up, everyone's head turned in his direction as he gave his opinion on the situation.

"What do you mean she can't come?" I asked, emotional tears forming in my eyes, me refusing to let them fall. Jake wrapped his arms protectively around me and pulled me into a deep embrace.

"You don't want to have her associated with us for the Volturi's arrival, when they find out about her relationship with you they'll kill her too," Jasper explained, he always spoke from a purely analytical and military point of view.

"Jasper, do you always have to be so direct with her? She's just a child," my Dad rebuked him, quickly coming to my aid.

Jasper quietened down and shot an apologetic glance at me. "Sorry Ness, it's just hard to sugar-coat things, I'm used to looking at things from a complete defensive way that I don't often think about the emotional impact of it. Ironic isn't it? I'll let you guys finish this discussion, I've said too much already plus your emotions are getting a little too much for me to handle," he smiled compunctiously as he then excused himself from the table.

"Edward, the Volturi aren't exactly going to stop and question us on who we've been socialising with these past years and they're definitely not going to take a particular interest in wedding guests seeing as they're not even going to know that there has been a wedding, I really don't see the harm in letting her come," Mum whispered ever so gently to my Dad, trying desperately to help me get my way.

The thought of Britt getting killed by the Volturi all over something as simple as attending my wedding really seemed unfair but the guilty side of me needed and wanted her there as she was a big reason as to why this marriage was happening. The tears, once again, started to stream slowly from my eyes and I cursed the fact that it was always me who seemed to be the one crying. I hated being the typical damsel but there always seemed to be something to cry about these days. Jake was so good to put up with me, he just hugged me tightly and rubbed my back soothingly trying to be there for me in the best way that he could.

Rose's approach to the situation was a little different, it kind of felt a bit weird with Rose there, like she was a bit out of place in this discussion but she would hold no prisoners when it came to my well-being and so she stayed at the table with us.

"This is the smallest request that Ness could possibly ask for, for god's sake she just wants her best friend to be there to see her get married. I don't see the threat of the Volturi for Britt and you know I would never bring anyone into this if there was even a chance of detection. I agree with Bella, Renesmee needs to have her best friend there and if you don't let her I might just go and deliver the invitation myself," Rose concluded a little too fiercely, she would stop at absolutely nothing to ensure that I was happy, something that I was very grateful for at this time.

"Mum, Rose, I appreciate you guys barracking for me and all but this is her life we are talking about. We can't take this lightly, I want her there too but I'm not going to risk her existence just because I want to be selfish, it's not fair," I reasoned, I needed to be mature about this and understand that by Jasper saying no that it was not a personal attack on me.

My Dad looked split and indecisive, like he couldn't make up his mind. He looked at me then at Mum, Rose and back to me again. Jake, who had stayed silent for the most part of this, only had eyes for me still hugging me tightly.

"I think you are being incredibly shrewd Ness, I'm really proud of you. I really don't know what we should do myself, I think it's best if you take this up with Carlisle, he'll know what to do," Dad said as he gazed affectionately towards me.

I smiled a little, hope being restored in me that in fact my best friend would be able to attend the wedding and a rush of sudden euphoria swept through me.

"Ah," I yelped in excitement as I dove around the table to awkwardly hug both him and Mum, "thank you so much Dad! Do you know where we could find Carlisle?" I pepped in his ear, the elated smile just from the hope beaming across my face.

"I think you'll find him in his office," Mum smiled back at me, laughing at my sudden excitement. I had done a complete one-eighty in the emotional sense.

I hopped off Jake's lap and then pulled him up, dragging him out of the room, not forgetting to pass Aunt Rosalie and thank her for fighting for me back against Jasper and Dad.

"What do you think about having Britt there? You don't mind right?" I asked Jake as I lead us both down the corridor past the stairs.

"I'm with your Mum, I don't see anything wrong with it although I do get where Jasper is coming from, we don't know what the Volturi will do and what information Aro will be able to get out of everyone. That's probably why your Dad thought it was best to talk to Carlisle, he knows how Aro works you see," Jake explained lightly.

"Ok, well let's go find him then," I jumped up actively and pulled Jake up with me, taking his large hand in mine..

We casually strolled around the dining room table leaving Mum, Dad and Rose to their discussion and made our way to the long corridor towards Carlisle's office. When we reached the door Jake pulled us both to an abrupt halt.

"Are you sure you're ready to hear this?" he asked, concerned for my happiness.

I smiled up at him, in pure adoration, reaching my hand to stroke his cheek reassuringly. "Yes, I need to know. Don't worry, I'll be fine with whatever the outcome, besides, the most important person to me is already going to be waiting for me at the altar."

"Really? I didn't know that Emmett was going to be the celebrant?" Jake joked as I playfully slapped him in the chest, both of us laughing.

I took an unnecessary deep breath in and knocked twice on his study door. "Come in Renesmee," I heard him call.

Jake opened the door and lead me inside, Carlisle who had been busy filling out some sort of papers, glanced up.

"Renesmee, Jacob, I see you survived dinner," he said as he chuckled to himself, "now what can I do for you two this evening?"

"We were just wondering if we could talk to you about something?" Jake asked as we made our way towards his desk.

"By all means, please, sit down," he offered, gesturing his hands to the two seats in front of us. "Now, what is it that you two would like to discuss?" he asked as Jake and I were sitting down, Jake grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing it sweetly.

Carlisle noticed this and jumped to another wrong conclusion, "Ah, I see what you mean. Something you didn't prefer talking to your father about. Well, no harm done, I'm glad that you were responsible enough to come to someone. Now when deciding to become physi-"

"No Carlisle, it's nothing like that," I blurted out, absolutely horrified and beyond embarrassed. I could feel Jake in the chair next to me sinking further and further down, trying to be invisible at this moment in time.

"Why does everyone always think of that when it comes to us?" I muttered softly to myself, Carlisle looked a little abashed and apologised to us both before proceeding.

"I'm so sorry, what is it that you did want to talk about?" he pondered.

"Well, it's about the wedding actually. I was just wondering, you know, if it were possible, that maybe I could invite Britt?" I asked, half-pleading. I knew that if Carlisle thought it was safe then she would be alright.

"Oh," he gasped, tears instinctively pooled in my eyes but I wasn't about to let them fall. Jake saw them immediately and pulled me in close to him. What I said was obviously not what he was expecting on hearing, he looked between Jake and I, mulling over my request. I'm half glad that he was taking his time on thinking about it, it meant that he wasn't taking the situation lightly and really wanted to make the right decision although the other half of me was hating that he was taking so long, I just wanted to know one way or the other so we could move on. I knew I wouldn't fight his decision because at the end of the day, it was being made to protect her. Maybe it would be better if she didn't come, I mean, for all she knows our family is moving halfway across the country because Carlisle got a transfer. Maybe it was for the best that I become just a memory for her, or maybe I was just setting myself up for disappointment.

Carlisle cleared his throat and brought me out of my mantra. "Obviously my only reservation about it is the girl's safety from the Volturi, have you talked to Jasper about what he thought?"

Jake looked at me and I nodded, I don't think I was ready to constructively discuss it, my emotions would get the better of me no matter how hard I would try to keep them in check. It was in everyone's best interest that I didn't fight this, so Jake answered for me.

"Yeah, he said that it would be a bad idea because of the Volturi, that when they came they would find out about it," Jake hesitated, knowing that I really wanted her to be there he tried to sway Carlisle's mind, "but I thought Bells made a valid point when she said that the Volturi aren't exactly going to come and have a cup of hot cocoa and discuss what we have been up to the past years. They're only looking for one thing, revenge and if I know anything about the Volturi I don't think they're going to wait around all day to do it. They'll be in and out," Jake tried to reason for me and it actually sounded rather good to me.

Carlisle stared past Jake, hopefully taking into account what he had just said. It seemed like an eternity before he straightened up and engaged us both back into the conversation.

"Renesmee, I know you really want her at that wedding but you know we have to factor her safety into the equation. I know you would never want to hurt anyone and Jasper does make a very legitimate point," he sighed looking at my as my face fell into a look of utter and complete disappointment.

"But, Jacob and your mother make an even better point about it, so I don't see any harm in inviting your best friend to your wedding," he smiled warmly at me.

My face then broke out into a smile filled with complete euphoria as I launched myself across his desk to envelop him into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He chuckled and hugged me back, "you're most welcome Renesmee."

I then straightened myself out and walked back over to Jake, who was now standing up, to hug him too.

"Are you happy?" he smiled affectionately, tucking my head under his chin.

"I think happy is the biggest understatement of the century," I beamed into his chest, "now let's go tell Mum and Dad!"

Jake chuckled at me and I began to pull him out of the office door, I stopped dead in my tracks before pivoting on the spot.

"Carlisle?" I said exasperated.

"What?" he uttered, confused as to my irritation.

"I swear if you ever tell me news like that again I am going to murder you myself," I laughed, the threat totally weightless.

He chuckled at me too, "Dually noted, now run along you two. I have some things that need attending to."

I floated out of the room on a great high, Jake by my side and the news that my best friend would be allowed to attend my wedding had put me in a great mood. As we made our way back to the dining room we ambled through the foyer and, of course, me being the most graceful half-vampire in existence, managed to get my foot caught in the rug at the base of the stairs and in the trickiest way possible, completely stacked it right onto my behind. _And_. Let us also not forget my great luck, at the precise moment that my behind hit the cold, marble floor, Emmett and Alice walked through the front door. His booming laughter alerting me to his presence and the fact that he had seen my moment.

"Oh boy, I'm glad we decided to call it a night! I don't think I ever would've forgiven myself if I had missed that!" he guffawed insensitively.

"Be nice, Emmett," Alice tried to reprimand him but had trouble from containing her tinkle of laughter herself, shooting me a sympathetic look in the process.

'Hey Jasper, you'll never guess what Nessie just did," he yelled as he ran off into the other room, trying to locate Jasper.

I growled towards him as Jake offered his hands to help me. "Don't take any notice of him," he said, trying to calm me down although he managed to laugh a little to himself.

Alice then floated towards us and helped brushing the excess rug off my butt, "He's right, we all know how much of a bully Emmett is. How did it go with Carlisle?"

I completely forget about my sheer embarrassment for a moment and got all excited with Alice, "he said yes!"

"That's great Ness! I wasn't too sure what was going to happen for a little bit, his decisions kept on changing so I couldn't be sure as to what he decided," Alice reported.

"I'm so happy! It was all Jake though, he reasoned with Carlisle and made him see how it could be," I had to stop dead sentence and do a big yawn, I didn't realise how late it had gotten.

"I think that's our cue to go to bed, you've obviously had a long day. Now, no arguments, let's go," Jake vetoed as he cut between Alice and I and moved me so I faced the staircase.

I struggled against him before admitting defeat, "Alice, can you tell my Mum and Dad what's going on then?"

"Sure thing Ness, anything for you," she smiled at me before skipping into the dining room.

Jake began to push me up the staircase, "ok, ok, I'm going Jake," I groaned jokingly.

We made our way up the spiraled staircase and stopped just outside my room, "Goodnight Renesmee," Jake whispered softly against my lips as he then proceeded in giving me a sweet parting kiss.

When he pulled away I rested my face against his chest and hugged him deeply for another moment. "I love you Jake," I murmured into his torso

"I love you too Ness, so much. Sweet dreams, I hope there filled with us," he smiled as he began his departure into his room.

I smiled as I giddily stumbled into my room and curled up in my bed. My dreams were, just as Jake had wished, filled with nothing but him and me. As I slipped into the world of unconsciousness a sudden feeling of happiness swept over me, as if things were looking up. It was now that a new hope had been instilled in me, for us, for my family and for our futures.

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**Thanks everyone for bearing with me, I love you all.**

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**Zoe :)**


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